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THE 

Manual of Floral 
Designing 



By 
W. CLEAVER HARRY 



NEW YORK 

A. T. DE LA MARE COMPANY, iNC, 

1919 



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Copyright, 1919 

A. T. De La Mare Company, Inc. 

All Rights Reserved 



FEB -8 I9!9 



CLA5lir>lUi 



PUBLISHER'S FOREWORD 

MANY requests for a manual on the art of floral 
designing having reached us, we placed ourselves 
in communication with Mr. W. Cleaver Harry, whose 
retail articles in The Florists^ Exchange were prin- 
cipally responsible for these requests, and that gentleman, 
in preparing the material, gave us this sketch of how he 
came into the profession and the manner in which he 
/ acquired his knowledge of the art. 

^ I wish to say, with professional modesty, that I do not claim 
to possess any super ideas nor do I wish to pose as a master of 
all there is to know in this broad field. 

The fact that I was born into the business gives me no 
tolerance for the man who calls himself a natural-born florist. 

My experience and the knowledge gained therefrom have 
been largely acquired through the "College of Hard Knocks," 
with the potting-shed as classroom and the trade journals as 
the only text-books. 

I probably would have remained foreman of a good-sized 
commercial place if my employer had not discovered my 
inclinations and my hankering for the making-up table, ending 
his remarks with the admonition: "My boy, you are wasting 
your time here! You belong in the store." Thus I was ex- 
pelled from under glass. 

Experience is a good teacher; but experience alone, without 
a text-book, makes a slow, tedious journey. After several 
years of store work, filled with glaring blunders and much hard 
labor, I began to realize that the arranging of cut flowers and 
floral designs is an art; that the knowledge concerning it is 
based on method. and principle; furthermore, that an under- 
standing of these principles would enable a man to do better 
and quicker work, to overcome obstacles and direct the work 
of others: in a word, help him to become more valuable — an 
artist, a manager. 



AUTHOR'S FOREWORD 

IN this booklet, "The Manual of Floral Designing/' 
is presented a concise but complete treatise — a prac- 
tical textbook on the art of floral arrangement, 
explaining and demonstrating its principles. 

The lessons are basic. They begin at the beginning and 
cover all the points of making up from preparatory work 
to the finished piece. From an artistic standpoint, every 
florist in the retail business is responsible for the advance- 
ment or dechne of floral designing. It is obvious then, 
that anything that will bring about a better interpreta- 
tion of the art will be a help to all florists. 

To those of you with or without experience, desiring 
to work knowingly and intelligently instead of being 
mere imitators, this book furnishes exactly what you are 
looking for; and if read and studied with the right mental 
attitude, will double your efficiency. Do not fail to note 
with special emphasis the paragraph on the correct use 
of the Album of Photographs in taking orders in Chapter 
III, and the one in Chapter VI on the imaginative 
faculty, which is there shown to be the secret of the 
Master Designer. 

W. CLEAVER HARRY. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I— Wire Frames and Mossing 

Text Book and Practical Experience both Necessary — Wire Frames — 
Mossing Pillow Frame. Pp. 8-13 

CHAPTER II— Pillows 

The Pillow — The Right Beginning — How to Stem Hardy Ferns; to 
Cover Frames; Prepare Stock — Stemming Flowers for Design — Outlining; 
the Steps from the Beginning to the Finished Design Explained — The 
Garland Pillow. Pp. 14-21 

CHAPTER III— Wreaths 

The Wreath — Several Kinds Available — The Decorated Wreath — 
The Solid Wreath — The Shower Wreath — Use the Album of Designs to 
Make a Better Sale. Pp. 22-29 

CHAPTER IV— Emblems 

Emblems — Choice of Methods — Amusing Designs Wanted by Cus- 
tomers — Keep your Poise — Don't Take the Fault-finder too Seriously. 

Pp. 30-37 

CHAPTER V— Baskets 

Baskets as Funeral Designs — Only Three Representative Designs 
in Making Up — Advantages of Baskets — Filling Various Receptacles. 

Pp. 38-44 

CHAPTER VI— Funeral Sprays 

The Funeral Spray — The Secret of Artistic Result — Faults to be 
Avoided — Getting the Material Ready — Constructing the Spray— The 
Final Touches — A Correct Ribbon Bow. Pp. 45-52 

CHAPTER VI I— Casket Covers and Palls 

Casket Cover— Pall. Pp. 53-60 

5 



6 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

CHAPTER VI 1 1— Table Decorations 

Table Decorations — The Influence of the Prevailing Mode is Shown 
in Milady's Selection of Flowers for the Dinner Table. — A Forecast of 
Catchy Combinations that Conform with the Season. Pp. 61-71 

CHAPTER IX— Wedding Bouquets 

Wedding Bouquets — Characteristics of a Good Wedding Bouquet — 
Learning How to Produce it — The Forearm Shower — Always Deliver 
Ahead of Time— Taking the Order. Pp. 73-81 

CHAPTER X — Corsage Bouquets and Boutonnieres 

Corsage Bouquets — A Review of Best, Easiest and Quickest Methods 
Used by the Store Artist, Showing the Importance of Every Detail — How 
to Make a Correct Boutonniere. Pp. 83-90 

CHAPTER XI— Wedding Decorations 

Materials in General Use and How to Use Them — Decorative Prop- 
erties — The Prie-dieu, the Gates and Canopy — Objective Points to Cover 
in Both Church and Home. Pp. 91-100 

CHAPTER XII 

Miscellaneous Decorations in Hotel and Private Home 

The Modern Interior Calls for Relief Decoration, Except Where a 
Transformation is Required — A Lesson on Table Decorating, Defining 
the Three Kinds, and Explaining the Method of Doing the Work. 

Pp. 101-109 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



American Flag 32 

Arm Bunch of Roses 77 

Ballroom Decoration... . ...... .107 

Basket of Roses, Delphiniums, 

Spiraeas and Lilies 40 

Bouquet, Bride's 72 

Arm Bunch of Roses 77 

Formal Bridal 79 

Formal Bridesmaid. 80 

Corsage 82, 84 

Boutonnieres . . 89 

Casket Cover, Lily of the Valley. . 55 

Lilium longiflorum. Carna- 
tions and Valley 57 

Wire Frame for 58 

Church Wedding Decoration 98 

Corsage Bouquet of Cattleyas... .82 

Of Cattleyas and Lily of the 

Valley 84 

Couplet, A Rose 48 

Decorations, Miscellaneous. 

Interior Decorated on a la 
carte plan 102 

Stage of a Modern Ballroom.. 107 
Emblem, Woodmen of the World. .31 

Artistic, used as a Funeral De- 
sign 34 

Elaborate, made on a Panel ... 36 

Hairpin Clutch 16 

Pillow, Garland, Diagram for.. 15,17 

Design of 19 

Regulation, of mixed flowers.. .20 
Prie-dieu at Home Wedding. ... 93 



Spray of Callas 47 

Of Roses, Carnations and Hya- 
cinths 50 

Table Decoration, Pink Acro- 

cliniums and ferns 62 

Cattleya orchids and Adian- 

tum ferns 65 

Pink and white Sweet Peas 
and Adiantum ferns. 67 

Urn, Floral 43 

Wedding Bouquets. (See Bouquets). 

Wedding Decorations: 

• A Near View of Prie-dieu at 

Home Wedding 93 

Elaborate Home Decoration 

for Autumn Wedding 96 

A Church Wedding Decoration. 98 

Wire Frames: 

Standing Wreath 9 

Broken Column 9 

Pillow with Designs Ift 

Standing Heart 11 

Harp 11 

Wreath 12" 

Standing Crescent and Star.... 13 

Crescent Wreath 13 

Casket Cover 58; 

Wreath, Decorative, in Crescent 

Style ,..23; 

Solid ....25 

Decorative, Heroic Style of.. . .26 

Shower 27 

Of Ornamental Foliage 29 



CHAPTER I 

Text Books and Practical Experience both Necessary 
. . . Wire Frames . . . Mossing a Pillow Frame 

UPON looking for some printed work on floral design- 
ing, we found no practical help outside of our albums 
of photographs. One large concern had organized a class 
of instruction, where private tutoring was given once a 
week, thus demonstrating the value of teamwork and 
expert assistance. 

A woman florist in the beginners' class asked for assist- 
ance on wedding bouquets, offering to pay well for the 
tutoring. She said that the best trade of her town was 
beyond her reach, because people did not think that she 
had opportunities to learn the fine points of the art. 
The practical help was given and the business was gained. 

The number of retail florists, particularly women, is 
increasing each year. No one questions their right to 
engage in this line of useful activity. There is no sex 
in business, any more than to mathematics. Good taste, 
courtesy, judgment, foresight and physical endurance, are 
not in any way limited. 

The future may see an unusual demand for good floral 
designers and store artists, who must work with a knowl- 
edge of the best ways and methods now in use, and not 
by some crude, wasteful method of their own. 

This brings us face to face with the need of training 
as a means of helping the retail store to success. Since 
those who read this book are daily practicing floral work 
in some field this will permit the use of trade terms, short 
cuts in copy and less illustration. Even the novice has 



WIRE FRAMES AND MOSSING 9 

some experiencej and to use his own words: "All I want is 
some idea of the ways used by the best designers, to help 
improve my own work." 

Florists, as a rule, give each other credit for knowing 
something. Thus it is that our national societies pros- 
per and our business is a factor in the business world. 




Fig. 1. — Standing wreath 



Let us now proceed on our little journey in designing, 
by starting at the very beginning. 

Only Two Types of Wire Frames 

Wire frames present only two outHnes: Straight and 
curved; a straight edge and an arc, are the two types 
presented. 

The wire frame-maker has two styles, the flat frame 
and the box frame. The box frame has a double wire 
on the edge, making it easier to moss and more secure. 



10 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

It is always used when a sharp outline is demanded, as 
in emblems. 

It is a good plan to carry a line of frames of representa- 
tive sizes in stock. Besides these, carry some extra wire 
bases for mounting wreaths, etc., when you have no com- 
bination frame in stock. Keep some wire tripods and a 
couple of wooden easels in your store room; also the large 
frarnes of "vacant chair," "broken columns," "gates 
ajarj" etc. Equip your tool-box with a complete outfit 
for cutting and changing frames. This outfit should 




Pillow with designs 



consist of a pair of large combination wire-cutters and 
pliers, a chisel and a roll of No. 15 wire for lashing the 
sections together. 

To Moss A Pillow Correctly 

The fundamental principle in set designs is clearness 
of outline. No matter how elaborate your treatment in 
the making, this principle must be strictly observed. 
Many square, shapeless pillows are not entirely due to 
the bad eye of the designer, but to the poor mossing of 
the frame. Let an artist be given a frame that is not 



WIRE FRAMES AND MOSSING 



11 






Fig. 4.— Standing Heart 



Fig, 5, — Harp 



mossed properly and see what happens. Almost anyone 
in the store can moss a pillow frame after he learns how. 
Obviously then^ a well-made design must begin with the 
mossing. 

The pillow is a representative design. In mossing this 
frame first cover the back on the inside with heavy 
wrapping paper or foil. For tying material I prefer, 
instead of string, a shuttle of wire, about No. 23. The 
green wood moss, when obtainable, is the best for all 
frames, although some use Sphagnum all the year. Do 
not saturate the moss before using it. If the moss is kept 



12 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

in a damp cellar it will be moist enough. After the frame 
is mossed, if it is to be put away for future use, do not 
wet it, for when it dries out again the moss will be as 
hard as a cinder. Soak the mossed frames when ready to 
use and allow the excess water to run out. 

Begin by mossing at the upper right-hand corner, 
making it full and deep like the bow of an inverted boat. 
Use the left hand for holding the moss in place, while 




Fig. 6.— Wreath 

you wrap with the right. Make just enough turns with 
the wire to make it firm. After finishing one corner, 
do the lower one on the right and then the other two. 
Be sure to have them all alike. Then fill in the center, 
piling the moss in with the right hand and pressing into 
place with the left. When the center is filled, molded 
into a solid mass and tied, go over it with shears and 
clip off the ragged ends. If the job is good the work 
will be smooth and rounded, tapering from the highest 
point in the center to the four corners. If it is flat and 
uneven, with soft spots, holes and ridges, where the 
corners join the body of the pillow, it is a poor job and 
will not pass. 



WIRE FRAMES AND MOSSING 



13 





Fig. 7. — Standing Crescent and Star 



Fig. 8. — Crescent Wreath 



Mark well the edges^ that they are filled fully so that 
the edging of fern leaves will not drop out. There is 
nothing about mossing that should require any special 
mention, yet this operation is of vital importance. Any- 
one who understands how to moss a pillow properly can 
moss any frame as well. The main points to remember 
and observe are evenness and proportion: that is, neither 
too thick nor too thin for the size of the frame. 



CHAPTER II 

The Pillow . . . The Right Beginning . . . How to 
Stem Hardy Ferns; to Cover Frames; Prepare Stock 
. . . Stemming Flowers for Design . . . Outlining; the 
Steps from the Beginning to the Finished Design 
Explained . . . The Garland Pillow 

npHE pillow is, perhaps, one of the earliest designs used. 
^ As an emblem, it belongs to the home and is nearly 
always ordered by the immediate family, consequently 
there are more pillows made than all other designs put to- 
gether, excepting wreaths. Before we begin the construc- 
tion of this piece, let us first consider some of the personal 
characteristics that a man or woman must possess to be 
successful in this vocation. 

An artist must have an eye for color and outline; a 
musician an ear that appreciates the varieties of tone 
color. One is eye-minded the other is ear-minded, yet 
they both know beauty and harmony. An ambulance 
driver in France must have endurance and steady nerves. 
The business of the retail florist is more exacting than 
is apparent from the front of the store. He, too, must 
know what harmony is, and endurance and steadiness. 
The customers of the retailer all know him to be busy, 
yet they can think of no order that could possibly demand 
such immediate and exacting service as their order. 
Much is therefore expected of the storeman and his assist- 
ants. Take a mental inventory of yourself. See if you 
have the following qualities in stock. If you have them 
all in good supply, you are well equipped and the technique 
of designing will be easy. If short or lacking in some of 
them, do not despair, they can be developed by practice. 
The price is continued efl^ort. 

14 



PILLOWS 



15 




Fig. 9. — Diagram for a Garland Pillow 
The dark spaces show the sections to be filled solid with Carnations or a substitute. 
The two crescent spaces marked G are to*be occupied by Roses, etc., forming the gar- 
lands, which run to a point of a single Rose bud, and extend ten or twelve inches beyond 
the frame at the corners 



The floral artist must 

First: Be able to think and to plan. To think and to 
think quickly on your feet, for the floral designer is ever 
a footworker. 

Second: He must be able to picture the work mentally 
before it is begun. This is the faculty of imagination and 
is priceless. Without the aid of this mental architecture 
your materials would lie useless before you. 

Third: Next, the maker-up must have a good eye, even 
the eye of an artist. Observe, read, watch what is being 
used and worn. Look for color in everything, and you 
will soon be able to recognize pleasing combinations 
readily and detect lack of harmony. 



16 



MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 



Fourth : You must be quick, decisive. Everything must 
go together with a cHck, and it is finished. It takes 
practice to do this, and while you should move quickly, 
you must never hurry. 

In summing up these four personal requisites, let me say 
that all instruction can ever do or is intended to do is to 
be a guide just to help you get hold of the true idea. All 
things that talent does are within the reach of him who 
wants them enough to work for them. 



The Hair-Pin Clutch 

In mossing the pillow frame, we found that the principal 
point was evenness and proportion. We are now ready 
to make up. The first step is the stemming. As a. 
setting for the floral work, it is best to edge all pillow 
frames with hardy ferns. Some designers omit this, but 
it adds a great deal to the finished design, by 
cutting out the view of the feet and back. 
Take two or three fern leaves in the left hand, 
place them together like the ribs of a fan, and 
after breaking off the stem ends, turn a No. 20 
wire on them, with a big loop up the back. 
This is the hair-pin clutch and there is no 
getting away from it. (See Figure 10.) 

When you put the ferns into the frame, 
enter them in the lower edge, with a slight 
dip downward. Use them pretty thick and 
the pillow will look as if it were resting on a 
bank of fern leaves and not standing unsup- 
ported in the air, as it looks without them? 

It is our intention in these lessons to pay 
strict attention to right beginning and to good 
methods, omitting non-essentials between the 
Fig. 10.— beginning of a design and the splendid detail 

The hairpin , r - ^ 

clutch at the nnish. 




PILLOWS 



17 




Fig. 1 1.— In this diagram the garlands are reversed, being now on the top and bottom, 

instead of the sides, as in the one on the left. Note that in designing a pillow, every 

line is a curved line 

Carry on hand some box wire in two or three numbers, 
19, 21 and 23. For store wire leave out No. 19 and 
substitute Nos. 24 and 26 for winding on. shuttles. I do 
not favor or advise the use of toothpicks. Some de- 
signers use them exclusively. I believe this is on account 
of the dry Sphagnum used in mossing. Where green 
moss is used, toothpicks are unnecessary, except the long 
green ones used in base of large designs. 

In stemming Roses, cut the stems to the lengths de- 
sired, which will be from jin. to Sin. Hold the Rose 
between the thumb and fingers of the left hand and 
enter the wire in the calyx with the right. Push it 
through and turn the end down about M-in. In turning 
the wire down the stem, use the thumb and fingers of the 
right hand. Don't turn it with an over-arm movement. 
Your fingers will get so strong from use in stemming 



18 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

that your friends will be afraid to shake hands with 
you. You can stem two Roses to every one of the 
fellow who turns the wire with his hand and arm. 



Making a Mixed Pillow 

An ordinary mixed pillow, where no attempt is made 
to carry a special design, requires no special treatment 
outside of the caution to keep the outline clear. Cover 
the moss with Laurel tips. This is a quick and efficient 
foundation. It requires no stemming and fills up so well 
that it will tighten up the design and make the work 
last longer, by keeping the air from getting through 
under the flowers. It is much superior, in every way, 
to fern leaves tacked flat on the moss. 

The letter can either be put on a solid bed in the 
center, or a better way is to use adhesive letters, sticking 
them on a short piece of ribbon and fastening it on in any 
portion that suits your taste. 

In finishing do not stick a number of plumosus tips 
in among the flowers. This is a common error among 
those who never stop to think that the proper use of greens 
is not to cloud the flowers and make the outline hazy. 
A little Adiantum used with discretion will give a soften- 
ing and pleasing effect but it much not be overdone. The 
time given for making a mixed pillow, size 2oin., including 
the mossing, should be one hour, all the work being done 
by one person. 

The Garland Pillow 

The pillow of mixed flowers has no special character 
in its arrangement. In contrast to this is the garland- 
style pillow, which follows a definite plan in its make-up. 

In this, we return to our early discovery that a 
pillow design is formed by segments of four circles inter- 
secting each other. (See Figure 12.) The pillow is 



PILLOWS 



19 



therefore a circular design and all its lines are curved. 
The garland style should only be used where a good price 
is given, for it takes considerable material and looks best 
in larger sizes. 

Fill in the shade4 crescents shown in Figures 9 and 1 1 
with solid bedding. This should be as flat as the moss 
itself in order to emphasize the garlands which fill in the 
white crescents. Fill these white crescents with Laurel 
tips, just as in the other frame, but be careful not to get 
the effect too bushy. To begin the garland, make a thin 
spray of Roses with loin. or I2in. stems, each Rose wired 
to keep the head from breaking. Start with one Rose 
and work back, using only about six Roses, and greens. 
This is the end of the garland. Fasten one end on each 
corner, by running a wire clear through the corner and 
twisting it on the back of the frame. Because these hang 
over like the end of a festoon, there is no danger of their 
pulling out as if just stuck in on a wood pick. 




Fig. 12. — ^The space formed by the segments of four circles intersecting 
thus is the design of the pillow 



20 



MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 



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PILLOWS 21 

Continue these corners by filling in the usual way 
with open Roses and heavy flowers close to the moss, and 
top off with the small Roses and trimming flowers, grad- 
ually getting higher and wider to the center and then 
reversing the direction to the opposite corner. These 
crescents should be pretty full and well rounded with very 
little green showing. On the 22in. frame, loo Roses, 50 
in each garland, will barely suffice. Now finish the 
design by running an edging of any flower, like Sweet 
Peas, Roman Hyacinths, etc., all around the entire frame. 
Put them in long and let them hang over the fern leaves 
forming the base. Put a small cluster, like three orchids, 
directly in the center of the solid work between the 
garlands in Figure 9. In Figure 11, where the garlands 
run the long way, the name can be used on the solid 
center. 

Now stand off and view your work. Here is a secret 
of the studio, in detecting any defects in symmetry. 
Stand back a couple of paces, partly close both eyes and 
look through the lashes. See how the form and lines 
of the design come before your view in bold relief, as 
the detail of the flowers is diminished. Try it and see 
your work as others see it. 



CHAPTER III 

The Wreath . . . Several Kinds Available . . . The 

Decorated Wreath . . . The Solid Wreath . . . The 

Shower Wreath . . . Use the Album of Designs to Make 

a Better Sale 

T^HE most useful floral design in the wreath. As an 
-^ emblem it is universal. The word wreath means 
garland. In ancient Rome and Greece it was a symbol 
of victory, a proclamation of triumph, a crown for the 
hero. In its present-day use, as a funeral token, it still 
holds the same significance in the conquering of the 
"last enemy,'* but not exactly in the same sense. 

In Europe it is the custom to present a laurel wreath 
to the director of the Royal Opera, a great composer or 
any other celebrity on some fete occasion as a token of 
appreciation. In our large American cities, the con- 
ductor of the symphony orchestra is given a similar token, 
in the form of a wreath of Magnolia leaves, by his musi- 
cians at the farewell concert of the season or on some 
other signal occasion. 

As a funeral design the wreath can be made very 
formal or very artistic. It may run in price from $2 to 
$200. A wreath can be made in as many styles and 
combinations of flowers as you can think of; in fact, do 
what you will in the treatment of this frame, it will never 
lose its identity. 

The designer who prides himself on his initiative and 
originality here finds an ever present opportunity. To 
him the wreath gives a free reign. 

Kinds of Wreaths Classified 

There are round, crescent or broken and mounted 

wreaths. In make-up we have three distinct styles, 
22 



WREATHS 



23 



namely: Figure 14, the decorated wreath; Figure 15, the 
sohd wreath and Figure 17, the shower wreath. 

The old-fashioned, formal wreath, with its edging of 
Smilax and Rose Leaves, its close-cropped filling of Roses, 




Fig. 14. 



-Decorative Wreath in crescent style. Leucothoe leaves 
as substitute for Laurel 



Carnations, Alyssum and what-not, is no longer made in 
the larger stores of the city, but it will always be a good 
medium for using up the odds and ends about the small 
place, with its own greenhouses. 



24 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

Funeral designs are just as much in use as ever. Styles 
and customs alone change the manner of usage. It is 
well that they do^ for in a metropolitan store^, a design 
like the wreath just mentioned would not be profitable 
at the prevailing price, while a low priced spray is accept- 
able business in any store. 

The Decorated Wreath 

The decorated wreath came into popular use with the 
introduction of the Galax leaf. Other materials used in 
foundations are Leucothoe, Laurel, Ivy, Magnolia, Oak 
and Bay leaves. The last three are chemically prepared 
and are too well known to need comment. The regular 
crescent wreath frame, with its tapering lines, is best for 
use in the decorated wreath, which consists simply of 
a leaf-covered frame, decorated three-fourths of the dis- 
tance around with a garland of flowers. The style, be- 
cause of its quickness in preparing and effectiveness, has 
done more to promote the design business than anything 
lately introduced. 

There are two methods of putting on the leaf founda- 
tion. The first is the flat method, by which the leaves are 
stapled on like shingles. The second is to stem the 
leaves and enter them in the moss in a slanting position. 
The first method gives a close woven base, which should 
be made evenly. Be sure and pick out the smallest 
leaves for the narrow side and use the large ones in the 
wide base opposite. Figure i beautifully illustrates the 
decorated or garland wreath in classic design. 

Figure i6 illustrates a large, heroic form of the wreath 
of Magnolia leaves. In making this up, use a large box 
frame and moss it rather fully. Stem the leaves in 
pairs — side by side — using the heaviest wire you can 
turn with the hair-pin clutch. When the leaves are all 
in the frame it will present a very massive appearance, 
with proportions of width and depth. Like all decorated 



WREATHS 25 

wreaths^ it looks well with only a few flowers, but it can 
be made as heavy and elaborate as desired. 

The Solid Wreath 
By a solid wreath we mean a design in which the 
foundation, as well as the decoration, is composed of 
flowers. It is a conventional design and the style is an 
old one. It is illustrated in Figure 15. Lilium speciosum 
rubrum can be used instead of Roses. They are much 
more effective and oftentimes cheaper. In the solid part, 
use white Carnations, Petunias, or any bedding flower. 

The Shower Wreath 
When several wreaths are ordered for the same funeral, 
and we wish still more variety, we have the shower 




Fig, 15.'/— The old style solid wreath is a good money maker with 

the average florist. It gives variety anyway, when there are a 

dozen wreaths ordered for the same funeral 



26 



MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 




Fig. 16.— The heroic style of decorated wreath, 
as the base 



Magnolia leaves 



wreath. This is the third style under our classification, 
and while it may be said to be somewhat freakish, it 
nevertheless represents a fixed idea in designing. The 
shower has doubtless been given to the wreath from the 
bouquet in an attempt to relieve the monotony of the 
circle. The wedding bouquet and the funeral wreath 
are in no way related, so when you make the shower 
wreath, never use narrow ribbons in the shower. Figure 17 
is an illustration of the shower wreath when it is well done. 



WREATHS 



27 



While all the varied forms and combinations come 
under the three classifications of decorated, solid and 
shower wreaths, we are occasionally called upon to 
furnish something still different and we make a wreath 
entirely of foliage. (See Figure i8.) This design belongs 
to the decorated wreath class. It can be augmented by 
the addition of a few flowers, but they must harmonize in 




Fig. 17. — The shower wreath is an effective design 
when it is well done 



28 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

color or form. As a suggestion, a few choice varieties of 
single Dahlias would blend with the color in the Croton 
leaves, while Easter Lilies, Asters or pink Roses would 
destroy the beauty of the foliage. 

The wreath is the most profitable design. With the 
wealth of materials available at all times, it is up to the 
retailer if he doesn't make money. The leading supply 
houses now carry and offer mossed frames in all sizes, 
covered with Magnolia or Oak, all ready to make up. 
With these foundations on hand, the making of a beauti- 
ful design is but the matter of a few minutes, while with 
emblems and other set designs, which we are to take up 
in our next paper, it is necessary to spend several hours in 
the completion. At the same price which kind is the 
more profitable ? 

How TO Use the Album in the Store 

Not all storemen use the album of floral designs as 
it should be used. The first thing to remember is that 
it is not intended that you should sell a reproduction of 
a design in the book. These designs are suggestive only, 
and not intended to show how to make up. Suppose 
now that you are using "Floral Designs De Luxe".^ This 
book covers a wide range, in fact, the whole range of 
floral art, so do not hand it to your customer to look at. 
Find out first what the customer has in mind. If he 
has nothing special in view, suggest something, and 
then turn directly to the page where it is shown. Handle 
the book yourself. Begin at once to talk, while the 
picture holds your customer's attention. Go on with 
your suggestions as to the kind of flowers, according to 
available stock, etc. Make no specific reference to the 
picture. You are not selling photographs, for flowers 
are flowers to most people, and it is better to have it 
remain so. Watch for and expect increased interest 



WREATHS 



29 



from your customer, for that is just what the album 
of photographs is intended to do. It will postpone the 
close of the sale until the customer's confidence and 
interest is so great that he decides to get a $15 design 
instead of a $10 one. The album will always get favor- 
able attention. It will increase interest as shown, but 
it remains with you to close the sale into a profitable one. 



^^ 


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^^m 




S. 


_^^M 




i 


' ,(f w 


^m^m 


1 


-■i-i^7<a&a^ 


ijIp^^^tI S^^**— «««»i 


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j^g|B«KJ^S|j8^t.-. 


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Fig. 18.— The^wreath of ornamental foliage for those who want 
something different 



CHAPTER IV 

Emblems . . . Choice of Methods . . . Amusing Designs 

Wanted by Customers . . . Keep your Poise . . . Don't 

Take the Fault-finder too Seriously 

/^^ ENERALLY speaking, all floral designs are em- 

^J blems. The cross, the anchor, star, crescent, crown 
and horseshoe are all emblems, yet under our treatment 
of this subject we must draw a line between these designs 
and emblems proper, as known in the trade. 

Designs in general both large and small, mounted or 
unmounted^ need no different treatment from the pillow 
and wreath. The principle, that of correctness of outline, 
is the same in all, and in a good understanding of this 
principle there will be no round-cornered crosses^ neither 
will the points of the star, the anchor, etc., be bounded 
by curved edges, instead of running to a well defined 
point as they should. So important is this that once 
your eye is trained to its correct observance, you may be 
said to have mastered the art of floral designing. 

We shall now take up the subject of those stereotyped 
designs that we call emblems, by beginning with a defini- 
tion. A floral emblem is a copy in flowers, of some other 
emblem or of something emblematic. It may be taken 
from a lodge button, or it may be an original design 
depicting a symbol, scene or historical event. In copying 
the design of an emblem, the facsimile should carry a 
marked accuracy of outline, proportion and color. In 
view of this fact, it is often necessary to resort to the use 
of certain materials, besides flowers, for to reproduce 
some things in flowers is impossible. 

30 



EMBLEMS 



31 




Fig. 19.— Emblem for the Woodmen of the World 



Emblems are not always made for funeral use. In 
fact, the floral artist, especially the one who adds the 
title of decorator to his name, is likely to be called on 
at any time, for something original. If his interpretation 
is a good one, it may bring him everlasting fame in his 
community and a reputation that cannot be bought by 
paid advertising. 



32 



MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 



In making emblems, the artist must be a craftsman. 
He must have inventive abihty and adaptabihty. Just 
now every floral artist is called upon to make the American 
flag. The floral reproduction must be such that will 
command respect. In this you must not try to follow 
your art so closely as to try to construct the flag-pole 
in flowers. The illustration shows the scientific way in 
the use of the pole and silk cords. (See Figure 20.) 
With the exception of a very large piece, it is better not 
to try to inlay the stars in white Carnations, but to use 




Fig. 20,— The American Flag. A floral design much in demand; extremely effective 
when well done 



EMBLEMS 33 

stars cut out of white or silver pasteboard and press these 
into the blue field. 

A floral emblem is an inspiring object to look at when 
it is well done, but when some sacred object or person- 
ality is burlesqued under the name of art, it is irreverent. 
When our old friend designed a bust of George Washing- 
ton for the show window, he got his concepts mixed and 
the result gave ''The immortal George" a perfect likeness 
to the Sphinx. Our friend had confused his geography 
with his history. But the climax came when an innocent 
bystander said: "What is the idea of the snow-man in the 
window ?" 

Two Ways of Making Emblems 

An order for a certain emblem often means much 
thought, planning and time to make. This class of work 
should carry a proportionate increase in price of 75 per 
cent, to 100 per cent, over regular designs of the same size. 
There are two ways to handle the practical part of the 
work. The first one is to use a wire frame made by 
an experienced wire worker. If the finished design is a 
success, part of the credit should go to the wire man. 

Emblem making is like embroidering. The secret is to 
get the outline perfect. If the design is small, use small 
flowers, massing them as evenly as beads. An edging of 
green is permissible with nearly all emblems, but it must 
be close and firmly set. Cut the flowers without any stem 
and bed right on the moss without any covering, unless 
it be flat fern leaves. 

The second plan in emblem making, and one widely 
used, is to make your design on a mossed panel, usually 
of rectangular form covered with some foundation ma- 
terial as Magnolias or ferns. You may give an emblem 
an original setting, as illustrated in the design for the 
Woodmen of the World, where a wreath is used. (See 
Figure 19.) 



34 



MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 




Fig. 21 .—Simple but artistic emblein used as a funeral design 



EMBLEMS 35 

In following this method, first make a pencil sketch of 
the emblem. In some cases it may be advisable to cut 
a paper pattern. Tack this on the panel and fill in the 
lines. The simplest method is to lay out the figure in 
tooth-picks stuck in the moss, to give you an idea of 
the proportion and about how much space is needed. 
This work is really a mechanical operation and requires 
a good, accurate eye. Try the studio rule, looking 
through the partly closed eyes, as given in the latter 
part of Chapter II. If you have a correct idea of what 
you are doing you will have no trouble in moving your 
material until it looks right. 

Absurdity in Emblems 

In taking orders for this kind of work, every florist has 
had some amusing experiences. I know one thing and 
that is this: The florist business should never be taken 
too seriously. I know more than one who gets all worked 
up over an order which seems to him of momentous 
importance, while the same work to a man of poise would 
be only routine. Obstacles of all kinds disappear before 
one who is self-possessed. As a panacea for nervousness, 
don't take yourself or your business too seriously. Be 
strict in arranging details beforehand, but don't be over- 
anxious about results. 

Some years ago a prominent butcher in our town 
passed away. His sons, who were his associates in busi- 
ness, decided to get something appropriate in a floral 
emblem, so they ordered a cleaver and knife designed 
in red Carnations, on a solid panel of white Carnations. 
Nothing was left to the imagination but the blood, and 
that was mercifully omitted. 

For the same occasion the "Rod and Reel Club" 
wanted to order a trout pole in flowers and the fire 
company a fire plug, with a coil of hose around it. 



36 



MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 




Fig. 21a. — ^Elaborate emblem made on a panel 



EMBLEMS 37 

Compromises were effected on these two, but the proposi- 
tion was not an easy one. 

Later on in my career, a gentleman with a very vivid 
imagination wanted to order a jaw full of teeth, to be 
passed over the footlights at the commencement exer- 
cises of a dental college. That is why I say don't take 
your business too seriously. 

An Admonition 

A little word of caution that is valuable to all alike, 
is not out of place here. Do not take any stock in the 
customer who comes to you with a tale of woe about how 
he was treated by another florist. He may have a com- 
plaint that is justifiable, but try to lead him to a broader 
viewpoint. If the opportunity presents, defend your 
brother florist, but only in a suggestive way. Don't 
smile, because the laugh will be on you. Sooner or 
later you will be the next victim. I never knew this to 
fail. There is absolutely no one in this line of business 
who does not get into trouble over things for which he 
is in no way responsible. In other words, he is accused 
of sending out stock that, is not fresh. To the one who 
does his best there is no penalty. For every customer 
who condemns you. unjustly, you will get two new ones, 
so don't take your business too seriously, and as it is a 
poor rule that is not reversible, do not judge your assist- 
ants too harshly. Error is only as bad as you make it, and 
again, the very next order that goes wrong may be one 
of yours. 



CHAPTER V 

Baskets as Funeral Designs . . . Only Three Repre- 
sentative Designs in Making Up . . . Advantages of 
Baskets . . . Filling Various Receptacles 

T7R0M emblems, our last subject, to baskets, may seem 
-*- like a big step. Indeed, in basket work, as treated 
in this lesson, the art jumps to the other side of the road, 
for the method of arrangement is the very opposite of 
that used in emblems. 

Since the object of these lessons is to present a com- 
plete treatise, the instruction, to be practical, must in- 
clude the principle of every design now in use or any 
that might be introduced later on. 

When we began to formulate the art of floral design- 
ing I thought that it would be necessary to take up the 
making of large designs, such as "Vacant Chair," 
"Broken Column," "Mounted Cross" and all spectacular 
emblems, in a separate lesson. Our research, however, 
led us on to the discovery that in the art of making up, 
there are only three representative designs, namely; the 
pillow, the wreath and the emblem. The principle in 
these, with its practical application to other designs, in- 
cludes all and is all-inclusive. 

The fundamental principle, as before given, in all set- 
piece designing, is exactness of outline, and perfect pro- 
portion. This, together with the methods of mossing, 
stemming, foundation laying, outlining, bedding, gar- 
land-making and the proper use of greens, is the same 
throughout the whole range of set-piece work. A knowl- 
edge of these, combined with careful practice, brings 

38 



BASKETS AS FUNERAL DESIGNS 39 

the art to your finger tips, whether the design is a familiar 
one or not. 

In omitting a separate lesson on large frames, we are 
avoiding repetition, making use of points only that make 
type talk. After this lesson on funeral baskets, will 
follow a complete essay on spray-making. Following 
sprays will be the casket cover, in which will be shown 
the different methods used, and the question, "What is 
the difference between a casket-cover and a pall ?" will 
be answered logically and conclusively. 

' Baskets Easier to Make than Designs 

The funeral basket is a new subject. (See Figure 22.) 
In some localities, basket arrangements for funeral tokens 
have been in regular use for many years. In other places 
they are never thought of by the florist or his customer. 

There is no reason why florists everywhere should not 
use baskets for funerals alternately with designs and 
sprays. Set designs are sometimes rejected by custom- 
ers and sprays are in danger of being overdone. What 
then shall we suggest to our patrons ? The basket, made 
according to modern methods, furnishes an easily con- 
structed, artistic and practical arrangement that an- 
swers the question.' 

A line of suitable receptacles designed for the pur- 
pose has not yet been offered by the supply houses, but 
of course all good standard shapes are usable. In finish, 
they must not be too ornate. Compost garlands are 
better omitted. In colors, they can be finished in either 
bronze, brown, green, white, ivory, gray or black. 

In the old days of short stem and stemless stock, bas- 
ket arrangements were not as practicable as the regula- 
tion wire design. Now, the order is reversed and it is 
often difficult to obtain enough short material to make 
some designs profitable. All florists, even the low-priced 



40 



MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 



stores, carry a good grade of stock at all times, which 
is often too good for ordinary work. It must be used, 
however, and often at a sacrifice. 

In sprays, you get paid for your materials and the 
ribbon. In baskets, you not only make a profit on flowers. 




Fig. 22. — Basket of Roses, Delphiniums, Spiraeas and Lilies, with 
ferns, as a funeral design 



BASKETS AS FUNERAL DESIGNS 41 

but sell accessories as well, for baskets are merchandise, 
bought to sell again, the same as jardinieres and flower 
bowls. It adds much to the year's business to be able 
to sell a few hundred dollars' worth of baskets at a profit 
of loo per cent. 

Receptacles and How to Fill Them 

All baskets are now made with metal liners. In the 
old style receptacles, no containers for water were pro- 
vided. They were mossed and each flower was wired on 
a wood pick and put in, one at a time. The whole 
operation was slow and crude. The finished piece lacked 
grace and naturalness. 

We do not recommend using miscellaneous shapes and 
sizes for this purpose. Eliminate all baskets like the 
small tumbler and all shapes, large or small that upset 
easily. These all seem out of place in funeral work. 

The small low models, either round or elliptical, filled 
with childish flowers, like Daisies, Sweet Peas and minia- 
ture Roses, are appropriate for children, but never for 
persons of mature years. Large baskets that stand on 
the floor are very effective. They have high handles 
that offer a good opportunity for decoration when you are 
filling them. For greens in these tall baskets, use tall, thin 
palms, hke Arecas out of pots, with all the soil cleaned 
off. For flowers, use Lilies, American Beauty or long 
stemmed hybrid Tea Roses with a detailed cluster of 
orchids on the handle. 

The method of putting together, as used by the mod- 
ern store man, is simpHcity itself. Very little prepara- 
tion or stemming is needed; often, none at all. Do not 
put moss in the metal lining. First, fill it about two- 
thirds full of water. Then place in the water a few 
pieces of Laurel for bushing. Gather the flowers in 
your left hand, arranging them in the kind of cluster 
that your eye tells you is needed — that is, whether it 



42 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

should be long, loose and straggling, or more closely 
concentrated — use a little green among them and, when 
the bunch is completed, turn a wire around the end, just 
to keep it together. Place this cluster, which may be 
of Roses or Carnations, in the basket with a decisive 
thrust. Then add the other flowers. Lily stems are best 
placed singly; building them up one side is the usual 
method in their arrangement. When you have com- 
pleted the filling, go around the edge and stuff in a little 
moss wherever you find an opening. This will tighten 
the filling; also, you will remember that the basket is 
over half full of water and that most of the stems are 
down in it. The moss will not only tighten the stock, 
but seal it so that the water will not spill out unless the 
basket is thrown on its side and allowed to remain long 
enough for the water to find its way through. 

Your basket arrangement is now completed, but be- 
fore you leave it, run your hands through the flowers, 
draw them apart, raise a stem here, lower one in another 
place, add any finishing touches that are needed and put 
on the ribbon effect. The whole operation should take 
about 25 minutes. By the way, in regard to tying ribbon 
bows, we will have something interesting to say on this 
in our next lesson, spray-making. 

Do you not wish you could make up a pillow as quickly 
and with as little stemming as the basket just described ^ 
You can make a low shape that will correspond to a 
pillow or a plateau by the same method. For this, u-se 
an oval basket with a lining, but no handle. Take a 
couple of Cycas leaves and wire them so they curl around 
like an ostrich feather, fastening one on each side of 
the basket, like the handles of a loving cup You can 
run a guide wire from the basket to the curl in the leaf 
to steady it; the wire will not show when the flowers 
are in. You now have a good base for a funeral basket. 
Run a few wires criss-cross across the top of the tin to 



BASKETS AS FUNERAL DESIGNS 



43 




Fig. 23. — A floral urn 



44 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

help hold the stems in position. Fill the tin receptacle 
a little over half full of water, put in your Laurel bush 
and go ahead with the filling as before. Use anything. 
A nice suggestion, particularly in the Summer season, 
would be to run a row of short Lilium speciosum rubrum 
around the main stem of the palm leaves. Make the 
center of the basket a little lower, and come up on the ends 
with larger flowers like Easter Lilies, something like the 
upper corners of a pillow. 

Stand off and look at your work. It is modern and 
it is artistic, and you have put it together in half the 
time it would take to put in the flowers singly in a plateau 
or pillow. Just a reminder in closing: Do not put the 
moss in the basket first. It is the finish, not the beginning 
of the work. That is the modern way, because if the 
liner were filled with moss you would be compelled to 
stem each flower and handle it separately instead of a 
whole bunch at once. Time is a big item in the art of 
floral designing. 



CHAPTER VI 

The Funeral Spray . . . The Secret of the Artistic 

Result . . . Faults to be Avoided . . . Getting the 

Material Ready . . . Constructing the Spray . . . The 

Final Touches ... A Correct Ribbon Bow 

TT is said, and truthfully so, that almost any florist, 
-■- with enough of the right material, can make a good- 
looking design. This refers, of course, to that class of 
work where the florist has the guidance of the frame in 
which case there is little to do but to follow the lines, 
like one who copies a drawing through tracing paper. 
When there are no lines to follow, when the work must all 
be done free hand, then comes the real test of ability. 
To this point we have arrived. 

The well-made spray is not common. The inference, 
therefore, must be that the art in casket bouquets, clus- 
ters, ties and sprays (all one and the same), is more 
difficult to master than that of set designs. In spray- 
making there are no lines, no outlines, nothing to guide 
the designer but his mental eye. • 

The eye trained by careful observation, to appreciate 
and understand definite outline, symmetry and propor- 
tion, is well equipped for anything in design work, but 
that same eye may fall short in spray-making. 

The Power Comes from the Imaginative Faculty 

There are many good storemen who never seem to 
grasp the correct idea of the spray, though they excel in 
other branches. What then, is the secret behind the 
hand that transforms a heap of loose material into a 

45 



46 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

cluster of harmonyj beauty and grace ? It is the faculty 
of the mind known as imagination^ the image-making 
power, the mental architecture. This wonderful gift is 
born in us all. What we do with it afterward deter- 
mines our success or want of it. 

In our study in tracing effect to cause, we discovered 
that the secret behind all constructive work in floral 
arrangement began with the imaginative faculty, and 
that it does not depend on mere nimbleness of the hands. 
All art and science are mental. Those who depend on 
their hands alone turn out work that is about as artistic 
as a billboard. To become a better floral artist, develop 
your imagination. If you have never seen the beauty of 
art or formed a conception of it from reading you cannot 
reproduce any ideas of your own on the subject. 

Funeral sprays came into favor several years ago for 
two reasons. The first was that so many designs were 
sent at a funeral that the result was an offense to good 
taste. For instance, two "gates ajar" were sent by rival 
breweries and a great standing lyre (the emblem of 
music), to the funeral of a man who couldn't even whistle 
a tune. Even the florist himself admitted that the 
emblems were a little far-fetched. Secondly, with the 
advent of an abundance of long-stem flowers, which were 
coming into favor, we find the florist giving assent to the 
spray as the universal token. By doing so, he made the 
notice: "Please omit flowers" to read: "Just send a nice 
spray" and instead of curtailing his funeral business, he 
has tripled it. 

How Not to Make a Spray 

Sometimes, the best way to make a point clear is to 
present it from the negative side, like a line in the car 
ad, of a hatter. The hat man won his point thus: "If 
any man offers you a better hat than my Hartford Special 



FUNERAL SPRAYS 47 

for ^2.50, give him the preference." Let us see then 
what a good funeral spray should not look like. First 
of all, a spray should neither be compact nor straggly. 
This applies whether you use a dozen or ten dozen flowers 
in it. Next, the bunch must not be too blunt or stubby, 
or long and narrow in its design. The first is the tennis 
racket and the second is the cat's tail style. Both are 
equally bad. The next erroneous conception of a Spray 




Fig. 24.— A spray of Callas 



48 



MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 



is the perfectly flat one, and its opposite, the porcupine 
style, where the flowers having been stemmed on heavy 
wire, are turned up at right angles to the fern back- 
ground until they look you fairly in the face. The next 
is a bunch that would have been a good one, but the 
designer cut the stems off short at the ribbon and gave it 
an abrupt appearance. Of the last two, one was spoiled 
by a haze of plumosus that covered it, and the other 
had a weak back and almost fell apart. 

The fundamental principles in spray making are grace 
and proportion. The spray, to have grace, must have 
good lines tapering gradually like a fern leaf. In pro- 
portion, it deepens to the center, preserving a long- 
stemmed effect. (See ^Figures 24 and 26.) The ragged 
stem ends are gracefully treated with a thin garland from 
the high center in a reverse position. The ribbon should 
seem to hold the bouquet together, but never should look 

like a huge necktie. 



Preparing the Stock 




r Fig. 25. -A 
couplet. The 
Roses are first 
stemmed on a 
medium wire 
and then 
caught at the 
base with a 
heavier wire to 
lengthen the 
stems 



I 



Before we make up a spray 
that will conform to our prin- 
ciples of grace and porportion, let 
us see to the preparation of the 
material, for here are a few points 
that are worth knowing. In this 
work nearly all flowers require 
stemming. In a cluster of Roses, 
stem about two-thirds of them; 
In American Beauty Roses, none. 
Easter Lilies are better if a few 
of them have a wire turned about 
the neck to make them face 
about. Where more than two 
dozen short or medium-stemmed 



FUNERAL SPRAYS 49 

Roses are to be used, they should first be stemmed and 
then put together in couplets or triplets. (See Figure 25.) 
It is not possible to make a spray with good lines to it, 
of short-stemmed stock, unless this method is used to 
lengthen the stem and prevent evenness. 

Take the thorns off or not, just as you like. In Winter 
they do not stick much, but during the Spring and Summer 
it is best to scrape the stem ends with a knife. During 
the Summer, or at such times as Roses are in danger of 
becoming over-developed, it is a good plan to resort to a 
form of stemming known as bridling. This consists of 
running a light wire through the petals near the base 
and turning it down the stem. Sometimes the stemming 
.and bridling are both done with the same wire, but care 
must be taken not to pinch the flower out of its natural 
shape. 

Putting the Spray Together 

Greens play an important part in the practical side 
of bouquet work. Some designers use too much green, 
others not enough. It takes three varieties of greens; 
fern leaves for back-grounding; Laurel for bushing and 
raising the center, the Asparagus plumosus or Adiantum 
ferns or both, . to trace lightly below the flowers. No 
sticks or frame-work are required. An exception to this 
might be in a long spray to cover the casket entirely, 
where a wooden strip would be used as a spine. 

Begin the point of the spray with a single Rose on a 
bit of green and a fern leaf. Use a spool of No. 23 or 
24 wire for tying. It is more secure than twine. Do not 
tie in every Rose. Give a couple of good turns every 
now and then as you proceed. Place the Roses on the 
outer edge first, and remember to break the lines so 
that they never fall two together in a row. With your 
left hand under the bunch, keep the Roses from hugging 
too closely, by separating the stems with your fingers as 



50 



MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 




c 

tn 

s 

a: 



FUNERAL SPRAYS 51 

you turn the wire to tie them in. The depth of the 
center should run from 6in. to I2in., according to the 
length and size of the bunch. A large spray will be 
higher in the center than a smaller one, and remember 
that a small spray with a high center is worse than one 
that is flat as a flounder. Grace and proportion: these 
are the points to observe. Make it look right to your- 
self.^ 

Finishing Over the Stem Ends 

Your spray is now completed except the finishing of 
the stem ends and the ribbon. You should gauge the 
stock so that you keep out nine or ten Roses for finish- 
ing over the rough ends of the stems. Make two loose, 
rather straggly garlands of these nine or ten Roses. 
Now fasten these in a reverse position over the stem 
end of the spray, tying them with a half hitch, cut the 
wire and the buts of any stems that protrude and put 
on the ribbon bow directly over the spot where all the 
stems meet, sheen it with a few choice sprays of Adian- 
tum and the work is done. 

Please note that the Roses running over the stems are 
not what is known as a double spray, which is but two 
sprays tied together end to end. This is nothing more 
than a continuation of the high center, just as if you 
bent some of the long stems down to trim over the rough 
stem to prevent stubbiness and abruptness. It is one 
of the main points and should never be omitted from 
any cluster, no matter how small or what flowers it is 
made of. In using palm leaves, fasten the leaves to- 
gether first and then make up the spray and fasten to- 
gether. Let the spray have two tips that run part way 
up the rib of the leaf. In making up American Beauty 
Roses in a spray, tie about two-thirds of them and then 
break the stems of the remainder and stab them in the 
core of the bunch, to raise the center. This is found to 



52 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

be the better method in making large clusters of this 
Rose. 

How TO Make a Ribbon Bow 

The proper way to use ribbon in floral work is to 
make the bow, not tie it. Make a loop a short distance 
from the end, pleat across the ribbon with the fingers of 
the left hand, while the loop is held in the right. Pro- 
ceed to make the loops, catching them in the middle with 
the first one you make. When you have as many loops 
as you wish, turn a wire around the middle where the 
thumb and finger hold them. With a twist of the wire, 
you have a regular milliner's bow. Attach this to the 
spray by running the end of the wire under some of the 
stems, pull it up tight and fasten. Now pull the loops 
taut. This will give a drawn look to the bow and make 
it appear as if it were tied very tightly down among the 
flowers and was holding them together. Do not try 
to tie the bow knot and then fasten it on; it is impossible 
to sink the knot low enough to look right. Be careful 
of the ribbon eff'ect; it may be a serious fault if not just 
right. Sheen the bow by partly covering it with a thin 
spray of Adiantum, if the color is a little off. 







CHAPTER VII 

Casket Cover . . . Pall 

/^UR esteemed friend, Mr. Average Florist, has a 
^^ wholesome respect, a feeling of awe, for an order for 
a casket cover. Many of our brethren have never had the 
opportunity to show their skill in this design, but they are 
confident that they can turn out a satisfactory piece of 
work. 

This is written with the intention of showing them 
that their confidence has not been misplaced. 

A little knowledge is not a dangerous thing if it is added 
to what you already know on the subject. 

All education that is usable is made up of "little 
knowledge." Larger opportunities fall into the hands of 
those who make use of small ones. In this series of seven 
lessons, we have presented for the first time a formulated 
course of instruction in the art of floral arrangement. In 
the logical arrangement of its points, many of which are 
familiar, it is hoped that much food for thought has been 
given, that will prove helpful. 

What is the difference between a casket cover and 
a pall ? Generally speaking, there is no difference between 
them, but there is a difference and a very marked one in 
floral art. If you make a casket cover and we make a pall 
they will both be used in the same manner but your 
cover would be characterized by being made of greens, 
and flowers, while our pall would be composed of velour 
or satin decorated with flowers in garlands and clusters. 
The word blanket is sometimes used in the trade but it 
is meaningless and incorrect. 

53 



54 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

The pall is not in as general use as the casket cover. 
Both were originally costly and elaborate. Of late years 
the cover has been cheapened and is used very extensively 
at all prices, especially in New York City. 

Three Different Foundations are Used 

While the casket cover is a ponderous and magnificent 
creation, its construction is very simple. For a structural 
beginning you have the choice of three foundations: 
(i) A wire frame shaped to the outline of the lid; (2) 
a section of wire mesh, fly screen or half-inch mesh 
poultry wire, cut to fit; (3) the same in coarse mesh cotton 
netting as used for curtains. 

We shall now look at these three separately, to find 
the advantage of one over the other in economy of time 
in making and ease of arrangement, and best to use. 

The Wire Frame 

The wire frame for a foundation is perhaps more widely 
used than the others. It has several practical advantages. 
One is that it can be made without a lining of silk or 
other material. The frame itself is made of the same 
gauge wire that is used in all large designs. The surface 
has a slight bulge to it but it is not intended at any 
time to be mossed. They come in standard sizes and are 
adjustable in length. One section being in a separate 
piece is removable, when used on casket before the lid is 
put on. (See Figure 29.) 

The frame is first covered with greens. There is no 
arbitrary rule as to what kind; therefore, the base can 
be covered with fancy ferns over which we use the finer 
greens. The common error in cover making is that of 
bushiness. Be careful of that from the beginning. Now 
proceed with the stemming, for no matter what you use 
it will require stemming before it is used. 



CASKET COVERS AND PALLS 



55 




u 



56 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

Suppose the whole surface is to be covered with white 
Roses; use the weakest stemmed stock you can get, 
cutting the stems 6in. to Sin. long. The next step is to 
gather the Roses into flat clusters. These are wired 
in position until the whole frame is covered. The whole 
when finished should present a fairly even surface with 
no greens in evidence. The side garlands can be put on 
next. These can be as elaborate as the price permits, but 
if you wish to be considered artistic by the undertaker, 
do not cover too much with the side decorations. An 
edging to go around the frame to give depth and emphasis 
is next in order. A color is good here; if it is lavender 
Peas first make them into a rope garland not too thin, 
and then fasten it. This border will cover the junction 
between the top and the side festoons. 

Other decorations for the panel like an orchid cluster 
or corner pieces should be made up first and then attached. 
Efforts to cheapen this beautiful design have resulted 
in a straggly mass of greens and widely scattered flowers. 
We think a cover should never be attempted for less than 
|ioo. If you cannot make a good cover don't drag the 
art down by a poor one; sell them something else. Never 
use ribbons and chiffons on casket covers. 



The Wire Mesh Foundation 

Some retailers of the old school seem to have an aver- 
sion to using the rigid wire frame for casket covers. 
These florists we find using the more flexible foundation 
of wire mesh. In cutting the wire be sure and make it 
about 6in. wider and longer than the Hd, and don't forget 
to allow enough besides to turn under so that there will 
be no rough edges. We recall hearing some uncompli- 
mentary phrases used by professional pall bearers about 
getting their necks and ears scratched while bearing 
the casket on their shoulders. 



CASKET COVERS AND PALLS 



57 




58 



MANUAL OF FLOR^^L DESIGNING 



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This wire mesh foundation is used exclusively by some 
retailers who pride themselves on the quality of their 
work. The method of covering differs somewhat from 

the frame. The garlands that 
hang over the side must be 
fastened to the edge of the 
screen first, then when the 
top is covered the stem ends 
are hidden by it. The top 
is covered by rows of wide 
garlands made up on the 
table and then put on the 
screen lengthwise. The 
screen being very unman- 
ageable makes the fasten- 
ing of these garlands a tedi- 
ous job. 

The back of the screen 
must be covered by a lin- 
ing to hide the wire. 
Sateen is usually considered 
good enough but sometimes 
it must be satin. Black 
is safe because it never 
shows stains or moisture. 
The lining is put on the 
last thing after the floral 
work is entirely com- 
pleted. 

The Net Fouxdatiox 

The net foundation is used 

extensively in and about 

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CASKET COVERS AND PALLS 59 

instead of the wire mesh. When making up, a frame 
work exactly like a curtain stretcher is used to keep 
the net taut. The flowers are made up in clusters just 
like the wire frame method. The designer standing 
alongside with one hand underneath turns the wires, 
twisting them back again into the mesh as they come 
through. A lining is necessary as in the wire screen 
foundation. The net should be cut very full for it will 
shrink with moisture and take up some in wiring the 
clusters on. In view of this fact, you can cover it some- 
what loosely and in an hour the flowers will be together. 
We remember on a certain occasion having to keep a cover 
made on net rolled up in a box over night. Behold! 
when we spread it out the next day it was noticeably 
smaller and much tighter. 

The Pall 

The best foundation for a floral pall is a good quality 
velour. The desirable colors would be purple, lavender, 
black or perhaps white, in rare instances. Velour comes 
in strips about 2oin. wide. The strips are sewed to- 
gether and the outside edge hemmed. The proper size 
for a pall should be that which completely covers the 
casket and hangs down an inch or two below. An adult 
casket regulation size would call for a velour foundation 
about 93^ ft. long by 53^ ft. wide. These dimensions seem 
large but they are for the average size metallic lined 
casket only, of which the outside measurements of the 
hd are 6 ft. 9in. by 25^^ in. wide. 

The decorations of the pall are entirely garlands. 
Wind them good and tight so that there is no danger 
of pulling apart. In putting the garlands on the velour 
it is a good idea to use a pair of trussels with a loose 
board top about the size of the lid. Mark out place 
where the garlands will come with a chalk line and with 



60 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

a large needle knot a row of narrow tapes for tying the 
garlands on. Let the tapes be about every 6in. around 
the top and the festoons on the sides. It is well to have 
the exact measurements of the lid so that you can space 
the garlands on the top to come exactly at the edge. 

The pall is far more artistic than the casket cover. 
It is not flowery enough for some trade^, but it is, never- 
theless, the masterpiece of floral art. More than one 
has asked: "How do you handle a pall or a cover at 
the funeral ?" It should always be placed in position 
by the florists. Two men are needed to go along wdth 
it. A flexible cover and the pall are usually draped over 
the end of the casket or if the lid is hinged, as is often 
the case, the drape is caught up on it and falls across the 
foot of the casket to the floor. 



CHAPTER VIII 

Table Decorations . . . The Influence of the Prevailing 
Mode is Shown in Milady's Selection of Flowers 
for the Dinner Table. A Forecast of Catchy Com- 
binations that Conform with the Season 

'IX 7HILE the art of floral arrangement is one of the 
^^ oldest in the world, it is, commercially speak- 
ing, the newest. Flowers were used for personal adorn- 
ment and as symbols of sentiment in the time of the 
Pharaohs; yet it remained for this day of luxurious living 
to discover that the arrangement of flowers in their many 
forms and colors is an art no less in importance than that 
which designs and creates the styles in dress, or the skill 
of the artist, himself, in any field. 

The average florist, whose work is limited to the 
making of various stereotyped funeral emblems, knows 
nothing of the heights above him. He cannot appreciate 
the work of his advanced contemporary any more than the 
uncultured eye can discern the technique of a masterpiece 
in oil. He cannot see the wonders of the forest for the 
trees. His work stands in the same relation to this art 
as popular dance music does to a symphony. 

Table decorating represents but one item of the florists' 
business, but in itself it is as distinctive as the archi- 
tecture of the wedding bunch. In this branch of decora- 
tion, the tide has been out for several years, but it is com- 
ing in. Table decorations, along elaborate lines, are in 
vogue again. This article forecasts the style in combina- 
tions, and refers, in a suggestive way, to effects for private 



02 



MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 




TABLE DECORATIONS 63 

affairs among the people of fashion. While much has 
been written of this subject, it is in no danger of becoming 
hackneyed, for there is nothing in floracraft that calls 
for more originality, more versatility and individuality 
in its details than the table. Would you like to know 
just how the style in other things influences color and 
combinations in flowers ? Even if your trade does not 
call for modishness, why not become an authority your- 
self, and be favorably known for up-to-date-ness ? 

The Choice of Materials Favors the Season 

The season influences the choice of materials to some 
extent, from the viewpoint of both customer and dec- 
orator. From this standpoint, the year may be said 
to be divided into two seasons: the Autumn or Winter 
season, extending from October until the end of January, 
after which begins the Spring season, with its wealth of 
dainty colors. The dominant flower of the Fall season is 
the Chrysanthemum, until it is overtaken by the red and 
green of Christmas. The largest blooms of these are not 
as desirable for table work as the medium ones. Dahlias 
come in before the social season is well started and leave so 
early that they are hardly worth considering. The fancy 
varieties, however, with their riot of colors, are desirable 
material for early October, before the frost catches them. 
Oak foliage, when fresh and clean, is valuable with Autumn 
flowers. The newer Roses are always effective, providing 
they are well arranged. Carnations, when used at this 
season, are always better in a low Sunburst, because of 
the shortness of the stem. The vivid shades are fine for 
a man's affair; nothing better, unless it be red or Russell 
Roses. 

Roses and Carnations should never be used in the 
same combination. Roses and Chrysanthemums are 
even worse. Consider the form of the flower, as well 



64 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

as the color, in choosing material. There are no hard 
and fast rules, yet no one would think of combining 
orchids with Asters, Dahlias or Gladioli in table work. 
To make effective combinations, there are two prin- 
ciples to observe, namely, form and color. Combina- 
tions which produce harmony in both form and color are 
ideal. 

The Floral Artist Must Know Colors 

Color is king. Color in flowers is the greatest quality 
of all. Color is the attractive force, for colorless flowers 
would be as meaningless as straw. Fragrance is secon- 
dary; oftentimes people imagine its presence where it 
is not, when under the influence of color. That which 
delights the eye will not offend the other senses. It is 
the psychology of color that causes the infant to pick 
out the red toy, and the bride to choose her house by 
the wall paper. 

How am I to tell what colors combine ? Some of 
them are easy to discover, while others only reveal 
themselves through some outside suggestion, usually 
from the customer. Who brought out the cluster com- 
bination of Baby Primrose, yellow Daisies and pink 
Spencer Peas, dotted here and there with a single stem 
of indoor Cornflower ? Perhaps you saw these colors 
of lavender, yellow, pink and blue in blossoms of silk, 
shaped like a Century Dahlia, in a wreath around the 
crown of black straw in a milliner's window. So, when 
a lady patron described what she wanted for a center- 
piece, you fell in hne just as though you had made a 
hundred of them. Style creates new combinations in 
flowers every season. 

This faculty for colors seems more developed in some 
people than others, but almost anyone, who is not color 
blind,'[can develop it by observation and practice. The 
linej^^between good and bad combinations is not wide. 



TABLE DECORATIONS 



65 




. w « S 

tt.S 8 



66 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

so you must watch closely. Be on the lookout, wherever 
you go, for new ideas and then practice; practice at every 
opportunity, without fear of being misunderstood. I 
know a young married man in the retail business, who, 
by observation, became quite a critic on ladies' hats. 
One day his wife invited him to trim one for her. The 
first time she wore it some kind friend said, ''Who in 
the name of common sense trimmed that hat ?" Need- 
less to say, George lost his job as a milliner, and now he 
doesn't care what the style calls for. He never looks. 

The Shades in the Colors Must be Right 

There is just one shade of pink and blue that will go 
together to make that "Frenchy" combination of pink 
and blue. Yellow Daisies and lavender Sweet Peas are 
pleasing. If you look down deep at the base of the 
petal of the "Maryland" Rose, you will see a little spot 
of yellow. That color tinge is your cue. This Rose will 
combine with yellow. The yellow markings in the 
throat of the Cattleya forecast a combination with 
Sunburst or Ward Roses. The green orchid, Cypripe- 
dium, is entirely neutral and is effective with anything 
that offers contrast, especially the warm tones of pink 
and red. The same applies to Mignonette. Remember that 
pink Roses and orchids (lavender shades) never harmonize. 
Indeed, orchids are discordant with all colored flowers, 
except those that offer a color in contrast, as, yellow, 
green, white, or very pale tints that shade to lavender 
or yellow. A rich Rose combination is the Sunburst and 
Mock. Use the Sunburst in a garland effect on the 
handle of the basket. 

In the decorator's art, as in everything else, it is the 
first impression that counts. The whole effect must 
create the right ii^ipression, when the guests take their 
seats at the table. If it is weak and insipid, the chances 



TABLE DECORATIONS 



67 




68 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

are that it will remain so to the end. The plot in the 
arrangement must be clear and easily read at a glance. 
The guests at a dinner are not supposed to sit there, 
trying to figure out the theme in the decorations. The 
taste of the American people is improving very rapidly. 
In the prevailing mode of the season is shown this fore- 
cast. The key-note in colors will be daring contradic- 
tion, rich and radical contrasts, individuality. Silver 
and gold ribbons on everything. Fashion dictates an 
apparently universal use of metals — gun-metal laces and 
metallic effects in ribbons. This is the forecast for the 
early Winter. What Midwinter and Spring will bring, 
no one can tell. The up-to-date retailer keeps up with the 
styles by beginning the season with the use of gold and 
silver braids on his corsage bouquets instead of colored 
ribbon. 

Where Do the Styles Originate ^ 

The styles come from Paris — and elsewhere. Styles 
are made to conform with certain tendencies or events. 
The Great War gave us the famous black and white 
that became a standard in stripes. Because there is a 
great universal language, called advertising, the creators 
of fashion are able to run the seasons through in double 
quick time, with three times as many style changes as 
formerly. The ladies now wear straw hats in January, 
furs in July, and Winter hats in August, and — what next ? 
The only interest we have in this is that the styles and 
color in millinery have a certain influence on the selection 
of flowers in certain color combinations that go for 
modishness in retailing. Everything and everybody 
bows to "the latest." ''Nothing is permanent but 
change." 

The style changes in some things are so rapid that 
a certain number in merchandise may go out of style 
before the orders from a road salesman can be made up 



TABLE DECORATIONS 69 

and shipped to the customer at a distance. Styles move 
in cycles. If you have a broad rim of the vintage of 
191 1 on hand, you have a hat that is now in style again. 
The force behind style is authority. Charles Henry 
Fox gave the floral world "The Flowergram," and a 
box of flowers became the vogue gift between lovers 
and friends everywhere. If ten per cent, of the people 
establish a precedent with authority, the other ninety 
per cent, will follow in their wake to be in style. 

A Characteristic Table of Decoration 

A beautiful Autumn setting may be arranged by 
using large bunches of Tokay and white Grapes, in con- 
junction with Oncidium sprays. Arrange the bunches 
of Grapes, both kinds, on two wicker plateaus or wicker 
trays, like a fruit vendor's tray, with a few choice Oak 
leaves as a garnish. Place them in the center of the 
table, with a tall, slender vase between them. Raise 
the fruit baskets about 5in. or 6in. onblocks and give themi 
a tilted position. Under them, and around on the cloth^ 
fill in with Hydrangea tops, broken in pieces to give an 
effect of billows of foam. Among the Hydrangea put a 
few clusters of yellow Pompons, arranged so the, heads 
just show through. Be careful not to overdo this part 
of it. In the center vase, put the Oncidium sprays with 
a mist of Adiantum cuneatum, so that the effect resembles 
a cloud of yellow butterflies. If the table is of good size, 
the whole setting, including the fruit trays, must be 
generously done; otherwise do not attempt it. 

Table decorations that use marble statuary among 
flowers are beautiful and suggestive, but descriptive 
arrangements that are intended to portray an idea must 
not be too realistic, for instance, a "Preparedness" 
dinner, in which the military suggestion was carried 
out with a small nickel snare drum, decorated with 



70 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

ribbons and tiny rosette bouquets in national colors, 
arranged on a shallow green plaque, with two shining 
bugles on either side, tied with gold bullion, with the 
bells of the instruments filled with Violets, would be 
more pleasing than shell cases and other implements of 
conflict that are gruesome, even in times of peace. Let 
your ideas be illustrated in a suggestive way and avoid 
realism and monstrosities. 

Mixed clusters in harmonious contrast are effective. 
They are made in flower dishes or low water baskets, 
in which are heaped clusters of choice stock of various 
colors, as yellow Roses, Sweet Peas, Snapdragon, etc., the 
whole illumined with three big, glistening Gardenias. 
It takes an artist of ability to arrange one of these. They 
must be low, so as not to obstruct the view, without being 
flat. The flowers must be the right length of stem, so 
that the effect is not scattered. No green is in evidence. 
The arrangement is close, but not uniformly so. 

Putting on the Stamp of Authority 

"Sterling" stands for all that is good in silver. The 
men in the retail florist business who have amounted 
to anything have done so because they put the stamp 
of authority back of their methods and goods. They 
not only believed in themselves and their products, but 
they carried conviction that was convincing. The at- 
mosphere of the store was one of authority. It went 
out with the goods, and Mrs. Discriminating Buyer 
found them jiist as she had pictured. When the deco- 
rators had finished she went into the dining-room ex- 
pecting to be pleased, and — she was. The decorators 
were correct in style and appointment, because the man 
who was behind them was an authority in his line. Every- 
thing in the high class store hinges on this, for others, too, 
have good ideas, perfect taste, and stylish goods, but they 



TABLE DECORATIONS 71 

fail utterly to make the impression, because they sell 
with an apology. We do not look for faults in '^Sterling" 
silver, or criticisms on a name that has long spelled 
authority. 

Style in decorating is distinctly feminine, and the 
hostess usually divides the credit for a "perfectly ador- 
able" table with the florist. The successful decorator 
must be a man of temperament and initiative. He must 
dare to take a chance. Believe yourself to be a great 
authority in your art, and — you are. Reputations are 
not made on combinations of pink and white flowers. 
You must push out into the unknown, and be a dis- 
coverer. 

Study the room; note the woodwork and wall cover- 
ings. Inquire about the decorations on the china. Don't 
take anything for granted. Go down to the last detail. 
Suppose, by some oversight, pink shades were put on 
the candelabra, when the decorations were red ? By 
attending to all these details, when the order is taken, 
you unconsciously stamp yourself the authority. 



72 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 




Fig. 33. — ^A masterpiece in Brides' Bouquets 



CHAPTER IX 

Wedding Bouquets . . . Characteristics of a Good Wed- 
ding Bouquet . . . Learning How to Produce it . . . 
The Forearm Shower . . . Always Deliver Ahead of 
Time . . . Taking the Order 

T^HE masterpiece of bouquets is the wedding bunch. 
-*- It requires more though t^, more practice, more skill 
and resourcefulness to build a good wedding bouquet 
than it does to make any other floral arrangement. 

There is a personality in bridal flowers, just as in the 
design of a gown or the style of a hat. Flowers, for 
personal adornment, require different treatment from 
those which decorate the dinner table or screen the 
music in the ballroom. While we have advanced the 
floral art to notable heights, there is still much to be 
done. Styles change, and we must change with them. 
A new style is only a new twist to an old standard pattern. 
Many wedding bouquets are merely clusters of second 
grade stock, ill-chosen, badly arranged and lacking in 
grace and proportion. They are finished only by a maze 
of ribbon showers, long identified with bridal effects. 

A customer at the jewelry counter was shown two 
necklaces, one at ^15, another at J^io. ''What is the 
difference between them ?" he asked, ''Five dollars," said 
the salesgirl. The difference in many instances, between 
an arm bouquet and one to lay across the feet, is the 
No. 2 shower of ribbons of the former. Many a bride 
carries a floral tennis racket to the altar, for a wedding 
bouquet. 

In studying the subject from the customer's viewpoint, 
we find that sentiment alone does not enter into the 
choosing of wedding flowers. The thing desired most is 

73 



74 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

correctness. In comparing a number of wedding bunches 
of the best designers, it was found that they were all 
incorrect on one important point. That was that they 
were not easy to carry. They were unbalanced and top 
heavy. These bunches were all very beautiful when 
displayed in the store; but the bride who carried them, 
found them cumbersome, bulky and heavy. A fitting 
punishment for the artists would be to make them carry 
their own creations up the aisle and back again, to the 
slow, measured step of Mendelssohn or Wagner. Then 
give them three days' vacation, to write out a few points 
on "How not to do it next time." 

The Method Discovered 

The method of learning how to make a good wedding 
bunch is founded on two points: observation and prac- 
tice. You may work in a busy store for 20 years, but un- 
less you are studiously observant and have an earnest 
desire to improve, you will learn absolutely nothing. 

It is comparatively easy to get practice in design 
work. But there are no stores that make wedding 
effects every day. This art seems to unfold itself more 
rapidly to some people than to others. The best men I 
know are those who have thought out the little kinks in 
making up, invited criticism, and practised with some 
old flowers at home, if no opportunity offered itself 
during business hours. The forearm shower, which is 
the most effective and best bride's bouquet of the day, 
was perfected by the observation of a storeman, who 
went to the church to give the bouquets to the bridal 
party. He remained to see the ceremony and noted that 
the bride held her bouquet with the weight resting on the 
left arm. He reasoned thus: "If the hand bouquet is 
so heavy that it must be rested on the arm, why not 
make one to rest on the wrist and hang over the forearm 



WEDDING BOUQUETS 75 

in perfect balance ?" This is the perfected forearm 
shower, which embodies the principles of all correct 
bouquets, namely: ease of carriage, grace, good lines 
and proportion. The construction of it will be treated 
in the paragraphs following. A still more modern form 
of this bunch is "The New Creation" or muff bouquet. 
A rigid form of wire construction, covered with satin, 
is entirely covered by a loose fluffy cluster, which is 
made up first, and then fastened to the form. When 
carried, the appearance is that of a regular bouquet, 
except that it fits closer to the gown, showing no gaps 
on the sides where the hands are clasped in the form. 
It looks almost as if it were attached to the gown. It 
is extremely difficult to arrange. To keep from bulki- 
ness, almost no greens are used. It can be used either 
with, or without showers. 

The Forearm Shower 

Nearly all retailers make this bouquet with original 
variations. The materials available and in general use, 
are too well known for comment. Just a few points 
now present themselves. When Roses are used you will 
find it is the weaker-stemmed kinds that make up best. 
Use a good medium grade of stock-stem on a No. 22 
wire. If the stems are uniformly short, it is always 
best to put them together in couplets, one Rose below 
the other, before beginning the bunch. This is one of the 
little secrets that make a bouquet come out right, with- 
out stubbiness. In stemming Sweet Peas catch a spray 
of plumosus at the ends of the stem where the wire is 
turned. This will lengthen it and furnish the greens for 
underground. Do not allow the plumosus to come up 
among the flowers. Just twist it among the stems to 
block them apart. With Lily of the Valley, remove the 
leaf stem and then put back about half of it, rolling it 



76 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

around the base of the flower stem, as a support and 
protection under the wire. 

There is no better way to build an arm bunch than 
to put it together over the arm, standing in front of a 
tall mirror. By looking in the glass, you are enabled 
to see just how your bouquet looks from the front. Be- 
gin now to pick up the material with the right hand and 
place it in position over the back of the hand. For tying, 
use a shuttle of light wire, about No. 4, in preference to 
twine. As you approach the wide part, heap up the 
center and throw the edges out boldly with long lines 
on the arm and high up against the body. Fill in with 
enough heavy greens at the core to block the stems apart. 
From the front the bouquet should now look like a 
great, generous bunch of flowers caught and held be- 
tween the arm and the body. To finish it, make a sm'all 
pointed garland and tie this in an inverted position over 
the stem ends. You now have a double-end cluster 
with large top resting on the forearm and the small 
garland end falling from under the hand. Note that the 
weight is so distributed that it hangs in perfect balance 
over arm, like a toy bird that perches upon a string, 
balanced by the tail. 

Fasten the showers to the tail piece, and a few from 
the top. Make up a bow of wide ribbon, by looping it 
with fingers, and then wire the loops like a milliner. 
Run the wire through the bunch just above where the 
lower spray is fastened and draw the loops down among 
the flowers, to give the appearance that the bunch is 
held together by the ribbon bow. Wrap the core of the 
bunch with ribbon, so as to make a nice finish when 
it touches the hand and wrist, for the bouquet when car- 
ried, actually rests on the wrist. Now take the com- 
pleted bunch, bend and pull it out to give the right 
eff'ect. The mirror will show you just how it will look 
when carried. The main point in putting an arm bunch 



WEDDING BOUQUETS 



77 



together is to make it broad, avoiding a long stringy 
effect. An arm bunch is a concise, concentrated bouquet 
and must not be confused with the long garlands and 
sheaf bouquets sometimes carried by bridesmaids. Some- 
one has asked which arm the bouquet is carried on. A 
bouquet that is built as described can be carried on 
either arm; on the left before the ceremony, on the right 
after the ceremony. 




Fig. 34.— An arm bunch of Roses. Loose formation of the arm 

bunch for bridesmaid, showing inverted section, which gives grace 

and balance to the bouquet. In the bride's shower with the Valley 

cluster, the formation is closer and more concentrated 



78 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

The Importance of Delivery 

The bride is afraid the wedding flowers will not arrive 
in time. Did you ever take an order that you were not 
told five or six times to be sure to have them there early ? 
The advice is timely. Do not wait till the last half 
hour to deliver. Do not have them there in time; have 
them there before time. Brunettes are more nervous 
than blondes. There is no compromise with a brunette. 
You must be there "with the goods." A blonde is in- 
clined to be more charitable, while a red-haired girl will 
delay the ceremony and hold the preacher back while 
you are changing a tire and think nothing of it. 

The most tragic instance that ever came to our notice 
was a delivery to a swell wedding a short distance from 
town. The bouquets were timed to reach the house at 
the eleventh hour. The boy fell asleep on the train and 
was carried several stops beyond the station. The cere- 
mony proceeded without even a boutonniere. What a 
fine advertisement for the retailer! When you take the 
order, find out the hour of the ceremony. Send the bou- 
quets boxed with instructions not to remove until ready 
to use. On a church dehvery it is always the safest 
plan to send a man from the store to wait until the 
bridal party arrives. 

The Sale and the Customer 

It takes some experience and ability to handle a wed- 
ding order. It is a good plan to have the one who is 
going to fill it meet the customer. It will promote 
mutual interest and insure the placing of details that are 
difficult to write out on an order blank. One or two 
men who are best qualified for this work should be given 
a free hand and all the assistance they need, so that 
they can specialize. People who are educated to good 
work will choose a florist with a reputation and a name 



WEDDING BOUQUETS 




Fig. 35.— A formal bridal bouquet of white Roses, Cattleyas, 
Lily of the Valley and Farleyense fern 



80 



MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 



which stands for authority. These things — reputation 
and prestige — do not come without hard work, rightly 
directed. "Here comes the bride." Insist on the tall 



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Fig. 36.— A formal bouquet for bridesmaid, composed of 
pink Roses and Farleyense fern 

bride carrying a big, generous bouquet. Everyone knows 
that the tall girl looks stunning behind a big bouquet. 
Yet for reasons of economy, or a becoming modesty, or 



WEDDING BOUQUETS 81 

the fear of falling over her own feet, she wants you to 
make her a bouquet about the size of an overgrown 
corsage. The stout bride, and the tiny bride — bless 
their dear little hearts! — they know that you know 
just what they should have. Be sure that you do not 
disappoint them. 

The groom pays, or is supposed to pay, for all flowers 
carried or worn by the wedding party. The ideal sale 
is when he comes to you direct and alone. He takes 
your advice, pays the right price, and leaves his fate in 
safe hands. Be careful not to undersell or oversell 
him. Very often the bride is told to order what she 
wants, and sometimes along with her, is Mother. Then 
comes the pricing, the comparing, the matching, the 
fussing and the eternal question: "How many Roses 
will be in the bunch ?" If she is young — quite young — 
with a rising sense of values, you will get your price. 
But if she is well on toward the meridian, the case is 
different, and right here I say: "Give me the men 
customers." It takes all the sentiment out of business 
when the bride-elect says, "No, I won't let you spend 
that much; the $5 one is good enough," just as you 
were closing with the groom for 1 15. A woman can 
get along without flowers, but she cannot go far without 
a wardrobe. She is thinking of the future. Right here 
we are interrupted by a voice across the table: "Say, Bill! 
What are you talking about ? What would the flower 
business be without the women ? Why they are the cause 
of it all!" And I say, "Long live the cause! but give me 
the men customers." 



82 



MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 



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Fig. 37.— Corsage bouquet of Cattieyas with ribbon and Maidenhair 
fern 



CHAPTER X 

Corsage Bouquets ... A Review of Best, Easiest and 

Quickest Methods Used by the Store Artist, Showing 

the Importance of Every Detail . . . How to Make a 

Correct Boutonniere 

"^[O one can succeed in the retail business until he 
■^ ^ knows the value of time. Speed with accuracy 
makes the modern floral artist. There are not many 
who measure on all sides to this standard. To take too 
much time for a piece of floral work or to be extra fussy 
often results in spoiling it. To be able to make any- 
kind of a "make up,*' to avoid unnecessary motions and 
non-essentials, yet turn out finished work that has more 
detail than the average, is the mark of genius. 

It is in the making of a corsage bouquet that details 
count most. Remember this, that it is to be worn by 
someone and the one is a woman. If there is anything 
that the feminine heart adores it is detail. It is the 
little embellishments that count most with the fair 
recipient. Omit them and your work is ordinary, no 
matter how conscientious you are in the choice of good 
material. 

To the man who never stops to think, an explana- 
tion of the best way to do anything seems like a long 
way around. Attention to detail beforehand, in prepa- 
ration saves time and keeps away dissatisfaction. The 
retailer who has his stock carefully cleaned and graded 
before putting it away is following the best, easiest and 
quickest ways. When a corsage of Ward Roses is 
wanted in a hurry, the stock is found stemmed and 
thornless, and to put it together is a matter of a few 
minutes. 

83 



84 



MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 




Fig. 38.— Corsage bouquet of Cattleyas, Lily of the Valley, with 
ribbon and Farleyense fern 



The corsage bouquet is a personal affair. Its pur- 
chaser has more than a speaking acquaintance with 
one who will wear it. If the flowers are ill chosen and 
badly arranged, it is a reflection on the sender and the 
florist. On the other hand, if it is correct and beautifully 
executed it may some day bring a wedding order. 



Everything is Important 

The man with a reputation for doing things well is 
always the one who has the habit of trying to improve 
on his best. The correct corsage bouquet has three 



CORSAGE BOUQUETS AND BOUTONNIERES 85 

marked qualities that distinguish it: (i) Conformity, 
ease of wearing. (2) Pleasing color combination and 
ribbon effect. (3) Reasonable keeping qualities. Many- 
follow these principles quite unconsciously, without ever 
stopping to think or analyze their work. It is for them 
as well as the aspirant from the small establishment, that 
we take the trouble to enlarge on this subject. 

Last Fall a young fellow from up the State came to 
work on the delivery force of a city florist. Although 
he did not know one street from another when he came, 
in two weeks he was better acquainted with the routes 
than boys who had spent all their lives in town. Because 
he knew that he did not know, he invested in a reliable 
guide and a map, while the native city boys stumbled 
along, never taking the trouble to find out anything for 
themselves. Let us, who were brought up in the florists' 
business, beware when we smile at the junior who eagerly 
accepts a suggestion from any reliable source; who searches 
and cHps from the trade journals ideas that they contain 
for all those who wish to avail themselves. 



The Artist's Secret 

The secret of the power to arrange flowers artistically 
is found, not in experience, but in the use and develop- 
ment of the faculty of imagination. Without the ability 
mentally to picture, ideally, the work you wish to do 
it will never be anything beyond the dead level of medi- 
ocrity. The hand will unconsciously follow the eye 
that sees the thing in a vision of perfection. To make a 
good corsage bouquet you must mentally picture it worn; 
see how well it conforms to the wearer. Eyes front as you 
go down the avenue, pick out the corsage bouquets from 
those that are just bunches of flowers. 

The corsage bouquets of one variety of stock are many 
in standard use, from Violets that need no arrangement 



86 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

to PansieSj Sweet Peas, Japanese Irises, Daisies, Garden- 
ias and miniature Roses. We speak of Violets when 
used by themselves, as a bunch of Violets; when made 
up in a combination as a corsage of Violets and Valley. 
Combination effects in corsages are striking, stylish and 
command better prices. Some of the best of these that 
are offered are pink Sweet Peas and blue Irises; yellow 
Daisies clustered in the center of lavender Sweet Peas; 
Cecil Brunner Roses nestled in among Ward Roses, while 
Lily of the Valley may be called a combination flower, 
enriching and heightening the effect wherever it is used. 

The Arrangement Must Be Concise 

The mechanical part of corsage making is simple 
enough, yet of great importance. Avoid straggly bunches. 
Dainty little tips should stick out here and there but 
the bouquet itself must be concise and concentrated. 
Many an otherwise good arrangement is spoiled by failing 
to observe this principle or by making the bunch too 
wide and out of proportion. Stem only such flowers as 
need the support to insure the keeping qualities. It is 
always necessary to stem Ward Roses, orchids and some- 
times Lily of the Valley. Sweet Peas never need stem- 
ming unless the stock is very short and poor. The 
following is the best and quickest method of handling 
Sweet Peas: 

Take two or three sprays of green in the left hand, 
say Asparagus plumosus and a little Adiantum. Begin 
building the Sweet Peas on this background of green by 
picking them up with the right hand, holding the stems 
between the thumb and fingers of the left hand. Outline 
the edge first and then fill in, working toward the center. 
Place some flowers flat against the background and in 
finishing the center, run some small sprays over them 
to raise the face of the bouquet in an uneven surface. 



CORSAGE BOUQUETS AND BOUTONNIERES 87 

You now have a completed corsage, but as yet the stems 
are not tied together. Bind them in with a shuttle of 
light wire in preference to string. Twice around and then 
trim the uneven stems to a point by clipping them back 
with the shears. Turn the wire around these ends and you 
have a neat, pointed stem. Now wrap the stem with 
foil or ribbon. The best way to handle foil is to have it 
cut in squares about 33^ in. x 33^ in. Place the corner of 
one of these squares up the back of the stem and then 
turn it around the stem with the thumb and fingers. By 
starting it point first it will twist to a point at the stem 
end. The main thing to avoid is a clubby, square ended 
stem. This whole operation, up to this point and in- 
cluding the ribbon effect following, should take about 
three or four minutes. 

There are two ways of putting on the ribbon-tie. One 
is to have the bows made up on hand fastened with 
wire. Insert the wire through the base of the bouquet 
near the stem and then draw it with the loops in among 
the flowers to give the appearance that they are being 
held together by it. Another method is to tie the ribbon 
around the stem, making a double bow to give four loops. 
In both cases it is best to omit the stereotyped fish-tail 
cut in the end of the ribbon. Do not forget to stick the 
pins in the stem before putting the bouquet in the box. 
Remember the importance of details. 

The Corsage Business is Profitable 

Shields to protect the gown are used on all good work. 
The right corsage shield has not yet been discovered. 
When it is found there will be a tidy profit in it for the 
originator. 

In reviewing the sale we often hear it said that flowers 
are not worn as much as formerly because of the damage 
wrought to fine gowns by pin points. The fact is that 



88 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

ladies wear the same gown only a few times, so this 
reason vanishes into thin air. Push corsage trade! It is 
very profitable. Feature corsage boxes in your window. 
Tie them up attractively. A ^lo corsage takes less than 
15 minutes to make. Compare this with a pillow or a 
star and crescent at the same price. 

The greatest selling point to feature in taking the order 
is color. In making suggestions it always stamps your 
work with authority to ask tactfully what color of gown 
she is going to wear. Of course he doesn't know, but 
the next time he comes in it will be: "I want to get some- 
thing to wear with a blue dress." Men appreciate your 
efforts to keep them from "getting in bad/' and will send 
you a lot of new trade out of pure gratitude. You know 
that a red-haired girl cannot wear pink, and yellow flowers 
make a blond's tresses look like straw. You will now 
note that it is better in the choice of wearing flowers to 
use those colors that strike a harmonious contrast rather 
than the old methods of matching. Have a few samples 
made up in the case. 

Another thing to remember is in the use of bulky 
materials like Peas. Avoid putting too much in them 
for the money, otherwise she may complain that the 
bouquet is too large and the next time he will buy a 
smaller one by paying a dollar less. 

Making the Boutonniere 

The main point in boutonniere making is neatness. 
They must be made very formal. The principal flowers 
in use are: white Carnation, white Rose, Gardenia, Lily 
of the Valley, Sweet Peas, sometimes white Violets. 
Never use a wire heavier than No. 24 on boutonnieres, 
and do not wrap the stem with the wire with more turns 
than are absolutely necessary to secure it. 

In preparing the foil, first cut it into small squares 
and turn the edges like a hem on all sides. To foil the 





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Fig. 39 — 1. Lily of the Valley boutonniere for bridegroom only. 2. Lily of the Valley and white 
Dendrobium boutonnidre for bridegroom. 3. Gardenia boutonniere for best man and usher. Add 
few sprays of Valley for groom 4. White Dendrobium boatonnidre for bridegroom or best man. 
5. White Rosebud boutonniere for bridegroom when bride carries roses. 6. Sweet Pea boutonniere 
for best man and ushers. 7. White Carnation boutonniere for ushers. At banquets boutonnieres 
of Carnations or Rosebuds, usually pink or red color, and sometimes Gardenias, are worn. 



90 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

stem properly so that it will run to a neat point, start 
a corner of the foil at the base of the flower, twist it 
around the stem to a point. Notice that by starting at 
the upper corner of the foil and putting it around diagonally 
the stem will be much neater than if wrapped straight, 
which always makes a clumsy blunt stem, that gives the 
whole thing a crude look. Use green foil, whenever 
obtainable; it is much more refined looking than the nickel 
or purple. 

In making the Gardenia boutonniere, remove the foli- 
age from just under the flower, and place a couple of the 
leaves under the back of the petals. Fasten them by 
running a wire right through the stem and leaves and turn 
it down the stem. See that the leaves do not stick out 
very much beyond the flower. By stemming it in this 
manner^ the Gardenia should now be flat like a rosette, 
supported and protected by the leaf on the back. 

Lily of the Valley and Sweet Peas, and all flowers 
of this character, when used in boutonnieres must be 
bunched carefully in a knot, that must neither be too 
flat nor too round, too large nor too small. Your eye 
will guide you. Then try it on the lapel and see how it 
looks. If the Valley spikes are too long, strip off some of 
the bells from the bottom, otherwise the boutonniere, 
when finished, will be straggly and fall over when it gets 
the least bit wilted. Keep the flowers close together and 
build them up snug. Omit all greens unless it be a tiny 
bit of the point of a leaf. This also helps to support, 
the flowers, as with the Gardenia. In the choice of 
boutonnieres for the wedding, the groom usually wears 
one of the same flower as is in the bride's bouquet; but 
there is no set rule, just custom, that's all. Don't slight 
the boutonnieres. Make them nice and don't forget to 
put a pin in the stem of every one. 



CHAPTER XI 

Wedding Decorations . . . Materials in General Use 

and How to Use Them . . . Decorative Properties . . . 

The Prie-dieu, the Gates and Canopy . . . Objective 

Points to Cover in Both Church and Home. 

WHEN we mention wedding decorations the first 
thing that comes to mind is the Kentia palm. 
Generally speaking the Kentia and the common Nephro- 
lepis fern form the basis of nearly all wedding decorations, 
both large and small, at home or in the church. 

There is a certain class of private home decorative work 
where only just a few specimen plants are used, and some- 
times none at all, in conjunction with cut flowers. Here 
the decorator makes use of many properties in basketry, 
pedestals and vases. Some of these he supplies, other 
receptacles are the art pieces already in the rooms. This 
style of decorating is an a la carte order, and is always 
the most expensive way for the hostess, but it is invariably 
the easiest and most profitable way to handle it from the 
florists' standpoint. In such an order, the instructions 
may call for a vase of two dozen American Beauties in 
the drawing room, filling the two large urns in the library 
with yellow Chrysanthemums, and arranging the large 
silver service on the dining room table with orchids, etc. 
You can readily see that the man who attends to the 
arrangement must be more than a first year novice. 
Indeed, a good man with one assistant can execute a very 
large order on the a la carte plan with very little prepara- 
tion. The florist in estimating the cost simply makes a 
store charge for everything used, adds an extra charge 
of 20 per cent, for service and arrangement, and bills 
the total. 

91 



92 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

Too many plants are not always desired in the home 
affair, both on account of space and of the plants cutting 
out and hiding objects of art in various parts of the house 
and hall where there is no need for screening. In church 
weddings a certain number of foliage plants are absolutely 
necessary. .Elaborate church weddings are exceptional 
with even the big city florist, no matter how much he 
tries to impress you to the contrary. But nearly all 
church weddings call for some decoration, although it 
may be but a simple bank up front, with two clusters of 
flowers on the pews in the aisle to mark the" reserved 
section. In the use of cut flowers in the church it depends 
largely on the price and somewhat on the denomination 
of the church. If it is Episcopal the vases on the com- 
munion table in the chancel must always be filled with 
cut flowers even though your order was taken for a plant 
decoration only. Avoid trouble for vourself bv noting 
this fact before hand. 

The Decorator's Properties 

The supply houses furnish certain stock fixtures. Have 
a separate room or large closet wherein keep every- 
thing pertaining to decorating. Let this be the property 
room. In pedestals, the wooden tripod stand in two or 
three sizes is the most useful and inexpensive. A few 
iron stands are valuable, but in patent combination stands 
there is nothing to be recommended. 

A few wicker screens of very plain design are useful 
screening the music or cutting off a portion of the room. 
In covering the screens use green Oak foliage, or any 
foliage obtainable. Screens also make excellent back- 
grounds for any plants or flowers that are used in front of 
them. 

An important fixture is the prie-dieu or kneeling stool. 
This is generally used and called for in formal weddings 



WEDDING DECORATIONS 



93 



at home. Sometimes at the church the florist is asked to 
supply two of these in a Catholic church, the second stool 
being used for the two bridesmaids. Other properties 
are the wedding gates and arches, etc. These outfits are 
sometimes useful and effective in putting up an outdoor 
wedding and in church work, but they are of little use in 
the home set ups, although sections may sometimes be 
employed to help out. It is not desirable to have too 
many stock fixtures on hand. They are all right when 




Fig. 40. — A near view of prie-dieu in use at a home wedding 



94 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

used the first few times but after that they are in danger 
of becoming hackneyed. I once heard a lady remark 
that she knew Mr. C. was the decorator because she 
recognized that same Bamboo trellis he had used at her 
daughter's wedding. It is better by far to have a few 
simple fixtures from the supply house and use with 
them some homemade ones that can be refixed and 
changed so as to be not easily recognized. 

Aisle posts can be made by using iron plant stands with 
a basket or round plateau lashed to the top. When these 
are properly filled and the ribbon or silk cord fastened 
from one to the other the effect is better than the white 
enameled posts made specially for the aisle for home 
weddings. Speaking of home-made fixtures we recall 
that one of the nicest effects on the church aisle we ever 
saw was made with white curtain poles with a small 
round basket nailed to the top; the poles were lashed 
to the pew on either side of the aisle and the place where 
the wire ran around the pew was covered with green. 
The baskets were criss-crossed with wire and filled in 
with Asparagus Sprengeri and Laurel stubble. Into this 
were entered the stems of white Chrysanthemums in long 
stemmed effect. The poles were put up in position first 
and the flowers put in from a stepladder. The baskets 
being metal lined held enough water to keep the flowers 
fresh. 

The Canopy and Mantle in Home Weddings 

In the home weddings the canopy is sometimes used. 
It consists of a' wire frame from the wire supply of the 
wholesale house. The finishing or decorating of it is a 
simple operation; it is covered first with soft greens and 
the flowers are wound in garlands and draped over it. 
To make it more effective and misty, white tulle is drawn 
over and among the flowers and greens; the effect is truly 
wonderful. 



WEDDING DECORATIONS 95 

In the majority of home weddings the locality directly 
in front of the mantle is selected as the fatal spot. The 
old fashioned way of decorating the mantle was to bank 
the top by covering it with a board mossed like a plateau 
and filled with flowers like a funeral design. Sometimes 
a glass vase was imbedded in the moss at either end for 
long stemmed flowers. The present day treatment of 
the mantle is not so set in its make up. The mantle board 
has long since passed out of use. In its place we use a 
low gathering basket in the center of the mantle top in 
long flowing effect; the basket being tilted in a most 
approved artistic manner. On the ends of the mantle 
tall baskets or vases are used to give height to the arrange- 
ments. Screen the mantle top with a little choice green 
but only just enough to relieve it On either side group 
the palms in loose open formation, bringing them forward 
to set the mantle in a recess. 

In the work of home decorating it is often necessary to 
drive a tack on the top of the door frame, or the edge of a 
moulding, to fasten a guide wire for a garland. The 
warning is tactful, when we say "don't let anyone from 
the household see you do it." Most people are sensitive 
about this, and of the matter of moving furniture, and 
making dirt for some one else to clean up. In all of 
these things be careful. If you wish to put the stamp of 
highest approval upon yourself and your work, see that 
nothing is left but perfection, when you leave the job 
finished. Carry a kit with you, stocked with pins, wire, 
double pointed tacks, hammer, a spool of wire, etc. We 
recall decorating the home of a governor of the State for 
the wedding of his daughter. Lucky for us, we got a tip 
from a member of the household that t'he governor was 
very touchy about having any bric-a-brac moved from 
its place. The house, by the way, was crammed with 
trophies of every kind and description. When all was 



96 



MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 




WEDDING DECORATIONS 97 

finished and he came in to inspect, and saw all his beloved 
treasures undisturbed with the floral decorations peeping 
out from between them, he proclaimed us the best and 
only real decorators that ever came to his mansion. After 
giving us a cash present he said he would advertise us 
whenever he had the opportunity and he has kept his 
word. 

The Use of Greens and Arrangement 

In the arrangement of plants there is no set rule. The 
skilled decorator in clustering his plants avoids the tight 
bank of earlier years. It is far better to arrange your 
palms loosely, and then fill in around the pots and open 
places around the pedestals with sprays of Oak, or any 
kind of foliage. We must, however, give preference to 
Oak, when it is obtainable, on account of its lasting quali- 
ties. Avoid straight lines in your arrangement. Let it 
be one plant up, and one down; one front and one back; 
break joints, so that the general effect is like a cluster of 
well arranged shrubbery on the landscape. If blooming 
plants are used always place or group them in objective 
points. By this, we mean, place them where they will 
show off best. 

One of the big points in church decorating is to cut the 
floor space. That is, bring the plants close to line, where 
the ceremony will take place. Reduce the size of the 
chancel, both width and depth. Cut the space with the 
palms, and get the credit for having filled it, when all back 
of the palm line is empty. It's the distant effect that is 
important. If the church is one without a chancel, and 
where the ceremony will take place at the head of the aisle 
in front of the platform, we would suggest cutting across 
the front at this point, screening completely the platform, 
choir seats and all. In church decorating, if you wish 
the decorations to excite comment, make it seem that 
there is nothing in the church but the bride and the 



MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 




WEDDING DECORATIONS 99 

decorations. Regarding the remainder of the^auditorium, 
nothing is needed unless, of course, the people wish to 
spend the money. Nothing shows up the church decora- 
tion like the white runner on the center aisle. This is not 
considered as part of the florist's decoration, but, if it is a 
big affair, and the awning and canopy man has received 
no order to cover the floor of the aisle in white, give him 
the order yourself; it is worth the cost to the decoration. 



The Sale and the Working Plan 

Don't wait until the day before the wedding to plan 
and prepare for the decoration. Just as soon as the order 
is given, which may be a month ahead, make out a 
specification sheet. On this sheet enter all memorandums 
of every item and detail of the work. No detail is too 
trivial, and a rough pencil sketch of something that words 
do not convey, is a big help. Lay out just what prop- 
erties you intend using and the approximate number of 
plants and cut flowers. Private marks and prices can be 
recorded on this sheet, since it is separate from the original 
order, and intended solely for your own private informa- 
tion. In the layout of the objective points, see that all 
material can be o.btained before you promise it to the 
customer. If you expect to use the palms of another 
florist in conjunction with your own, find out first whether 
you can get them on the set date. By planning ahead 
you will not only reduce the actual work but insure 
satisfaction for both yourself and the customer. 

It is bad business to try to do decorating on a com- 
petitive basis. Keep out of the cut price game on decora- 
tions and remain in business to see the wisdom of it. 
Some big town florists refuse to bid on decorative work. 
Others have dropped decorations altogether, except to 
their regular patrons, whom they know will pay a consist- 
ent price. On the whole, the wedding decoration is not 



100 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

a thing to be passed on lightly. It is an important and 
necessary branch of the business. It is profitable only 
to those who handle it in a business manner. Keep 
account of the extra costs and charge up everything, even 
the tip to the sexton and the butler. If you do not you 
may find that you put in a hard and fast day for nothing. 
There is, as every one knows who has experienced it, a 
keen and lasting sense of satisfaction after the work is 
completed in knowing that you have delighted your 
customer and a pleasant sense of personal good will to 
yourself in realizing that you came out all right on the 
financial end as well. 



El 



CHAPTER XII 

Miscellaneous Decorations in Hotel and Private 
Home . . . The Modern Interior Calls for Relief Decora- 
tion, Except Where a Transformation is Required . . . 
A Lesson on Table Decorating, Defining the Three 
Kinds, and Explaining the Method of Doing the Work 

TO keep pace with the style in modern decorating is to 
know the requirements of the new interior and to 
profit by the experience of the older one. Coupled with 
the practical knowledge there must also be in evidence a 
fund of resourcefulness and common sense and the ability 
to promote an opportunity, no matter how small, into 
a marked advantage. 

The old fashioned interior was either so ornate with the 
ginger bread style of the period, or so gloomy, that much 
decoration was needed to transform it for a festival occa- 
sion. Banks of foliage plants and a profusion of bloom 
were needed to change the whole interior so that not a 
trace of the room in its original form could be recognized. 

The later order and present day decorations for hotel 
and private home call for what we now term relief decora- 
tion. By that we mean the floral decorator uses his art 
and skill to further augment and give the festive touch 
to an interior already beautiful in its color and design. 
He does not try to cover up or hide the walls with heavy 
foliage, tightly arranged, but he idealizes the scheme of 
the interior, takes advantage of the present beauty of 
the room, and accentuates it until his vision is realized. 
Floral decorating of the present is not more difficult than 

101 



I 102 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 




MISCELLANEOUS DECORATIONS 103 

that of former years. It is easier to all except the florist 
who is unwilling to part with his old ideas. Easier by 
far to the man who uses his faculties of observation, and 
who has some initiative and versatility. 

Formerly, when the Five o'Clock Club gave its big 
event in the old Bellevue Hotel the gloomy room was a 
bower of palms and blooming plants. The ceiling was 
entirely covered with greens and dotted with miniature 
lights. On the wall back of the speaker was the clock 
design in red and white Carnations, with the hands 
pointing to the hour of five. The same design could have 
been used for a funeral if taken from the wall and put on 
a base. 

Nowadays, the same club meets in the new Bellevue 
Hotel, on the site of the old. The room is so different 
that it is like a modern greenhouse compared with the one 
of thirty-five years ago. The walls are already in such 
harmonious and cheerful colors that they form a magnifi- 
cent background for everything. We just group the 
plants in lovely clusters between the draperies so as to 
relieve and heighten the interior; place garlands of wild 
Smilax in the panels on the wall, etc. The Five o' Clock 
emblem of the club is correctly followed in an electrically 
illuminated dial, with the hands pointing to the hour. 
The dial is banked with a setting of greens, flowers and 
the national colors, cleverly executed. 

Table Decorations for all Occasions 

One of the most important departments in general 
decorating is that of table decorations. This work, while 
separate from the handling of plants and cut flowers in 
house and hotel, is included in the decoration, and is 
therefore inseparable from it. Rarely do we plan and 
execute a decoration of the kind referred to in this chapter 
that the table is not one of the most important features 
of the order. It is important that we take up the intensely 



104 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

practical methods of table work, and the mental concept 
that exercises most influence over it, namely, the color 
scheme. 

Table decorations may be divided into three classes, 
all having points in common, yet differing in detail of 
arrangement. These three kinds of table decorations are: 
I, Dinner Table; 2, Buffet Table; 3, Banquet Table. Of 
the first class, we consider tables for dinners, luncheons 
or wedding breakfasts. This class calls for the most 
detail in the choice of design and color scheme. A dinner 
table is more or less a private occasion, and the decora- 
tions, when anything is attempted, have much to do with 
the success of the entire affair. 

The whole center of the table is given over to the floral 
decorations. One of the main points is to see that the view 
across the table is unobstructed. If a low center piece is 
used the line of vision will be above the flowers. If a high 
arrangement is used it must be high enough to allow a view 
across below the lowest flowers. Whatever is undertaken 
on the dinner table must be well done, and the price must 
be suflicient to do the work right — otherwise let the other 
fellow do it. 

The second class of table decoration is for the buffet or 
service table. This one, when completed, may be spoken 
of as a decorated table, rather than a table decoration. 
No guests are seated. The table is usually well filled 
with piles of plates and the supplies of the caterer. The 
guests view the buffet from a standing position about 
the room. The decorations should be as high as space 
permits. Tall vases and high baskets are the proper 
receptacles. 

The third kind is the banquet table. This is also a 
dinner table, but it does not call for the same detailed 
treatment as a private dinner. One of the reasons is that 
the price for this work is much lower in proportion to the 
size of the tables and number of the guests. The banquet 



MISCELLANEOUS DECORATIONS 105 

tables may be long and narrow, with a head table running 
across the ends like a gridiron, or they may be individual 
round tables, seating eight or ten people each, with one 
long table for the speakers. Sometimes a horseshoe table 
is used, but in all cases the decorative principle is the same. 
An effect is made of low baskets, or pans filled low, with 
thin glass vases alternating. The greens on the cloth 
may be hardy ferns. Wild Smilax or Asparagus, according 
to the available material and the price. General effect 
is all that is wanted here. There are occasions when 
banquet tables are executed with as much detail as a small 
dinner, but these are exceptional. 

Choosing the Color Scheme 

There is a psychology of colors in table decorating. The 
most effective color scheme, without exception, is pink. 
This color radiates joy, laughter, fellowship and good 
cheer. Women are most beautiful under soft pink lights 
and the reflections from pink flowers. This is why pink 
is always the vogue color. Combinations where pink is 
dominant are even more beautiful. For these, take pink 
Roses and white Lilac, or the various shades of pink in 
Spencer Sweet Peas. Yellow is richer in daylight. It 
pales at night, especially if bright light is used. Candle- 
lights subdue and enrich all colors. The dim, soft light 
offsets the glare of the white cloth. Violets are hard to 
handle in color schemes. When used alone they are 
gloomy and depressing. Red is a jolly good cheer color, 
and will stand more light than any other. Be careful 
that the general colors in the room are not **old rose" 
when you use red. Miniature electric lights are often 
effective in table decoration. A set should be kept on 
hand with the necessary attachments for connecting so 
that there will be no danger of blowing out the fuses and 
putting the whole dining room in darkness. The bulbs 
can be colored in a few minutes to match any scheme. 



106 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

Spring flowers are popular in season. A very pleasing 
color scheme is the pastel combination. It consists of 
a mixture of the principal pastel shades in a harmonious 
and contrasting combination. One color sets off the other. 
For instance, yellow Daffodils and yellow Daisies by 
themselves are weak and insipid, but in the pastel com- 
binations, the blue Pansies and the wonderful pink of 
Sweet Peas, enrich the color of the Daffodils and Daisies. 

Receptacles and How to Fill Them 

First in the line of properties for table work are baskets, 
all of which must have metal linings. Flowers in damp 
moss will not keep fresh long enough to prevent wilting. 
Cheap glass dishes, bowl shaped, are practical receptacles; 
the cost is so little that in many cases it does not pay to 
send for the empties. A beautiful sunburst can be made 
by using one of these for a receptacle. Stretch green 
twine across the diameter of the dish by going around 
the bottom and across the top until it is criss-crossed 
like a loose woven web. Place the dish in the center of 
the table and place the greens in position. Then begin 
filling, placing the flowers in the outer edge of the cir- 
cumference first. Use long stemmed flowers and. try to 
have the stems reach the water. As you approach the 
center, shorten the stems and build the center higher by 
placing some heavy greens, like Laurel, between the strings 
of the dish to block up the flowers. While this arrange- 
ment is intended to be flat, it must not be too flat, so be 
careful to have the center deep enough to give graceful 
lines to the whole design when finished. No wiring nor 
stemming is necessary; the flowers, being in water, will 
keep well. If Roses are used in this method the stems 
must be scraped to get them between the strings. 

Children's straw hats make a good receptacle for table 
work. An ordinary tin pan, from the five and ten cent 



MISCELLANEOUS DECORATIONS 



107 




I 

I 



C 
as 



js 2 
T3 is 

CO 

S O 

is 

S en 

B 

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108 MANUAL OF FLORAL DESIGNING 

store, just fits the crown. On account of the shallowness, 
it will be necessary to fill the pan loosely with moss and 
turn a No. 22 wire on the ends of the stems to keep the 
flowers in position. Draw a medium wide ribbon around 
the crown, just enough to give the brim a nice flare, then 
note the effect. 

For a luncheon, a gathering-basket, with bunches of 
Sweet Peas (which can be given to the guests to wear 
afterward) is an old idea, but it is a good one for a midday, 
informal affair. 

Just a word about the proper use of greens. Do not let 
your green goods stick up at all angles through the 
flowers. Greens are backgrounds. They are foundations 
and should never be in evidence. 

Booking the Order, Making Use of Good Ideas 

"I want to see about getting something for a table," 
says Mrs. New Customer. The chairman of the banquet 
committee or the Ad. Club sells you the order this way: 
*'We are going to have our annual on the second at the 
Marlborough. There will be about fifty covers. We 
have just seventy-five dollars. Go ahead and give us the 
best show you can for the money." To book the first 
order, you may need every bit of knowledge that you 
possess. On the second you simply need a pencil and pad. 

To the first, an immediate suggestion may be a bad 
one, so you play for time and ask if she has decided on a 
color scheme. If so, you may then bring tactfully and 
slowly on your suggestive selling talk. Watch carefully 
for a cue on the arrangement. You rarely get "new 
ideas" finished and complete from customers, but we do 
get some valuable material in chips that can be developed 
later on. Never allow yourself to be cajoled into doing 
a piece of work that you know in your own mind is going 
to be unsatisfactory either way. It's nice to have a 



MISCELLANEOUS DECORATIONS 109 

reputation for things that are novel and new, but that 
reputation is worth most when it is built on a few things 
you did well rather than on some freakish knick-knacks 
displayed as novelties. Whatever you attempt in novel- 
ties let it be done so that it can be easily interpreted. If 
you wish to carry out the travel idea in a bon voyage 
table, don't make a ship out of flowers. It's absurd 
and an offense to good taste. A sea of flowers, say Sweet 
Peas, with a fully equipped ocean liner (to be obtained 
from a high-grade toy store), would carry the message. 
Always use flowers wherever possible but don't kill the 
idea with them. 

There is personality in table decorating. While there 
are certain best ways to handle the mechanical end of 
the work, the one great principle in arrangement is to 
make the decorating look as if it grew there. Keep in 
mind the mental picture of how it is going to look when 
the guests take their places at the table. By the use 
of this faculty of constructive imagination you will develop 
that master touch, that invisible something, that makes 
your work incomparable with any other; the touch of 
personality. 



INDEX TO CONTENTS 

American Flag, Construction of . 32 

Baskets 38-44, 106, 107 

Bouquets: 

Wedding 73-81 

Corsage 83-88 

Boutonnieres 88-90 

Bow, Ribbon, How to Make a 52 

Casket Cover: 

Various Foundations used 54 

Wire Frame 54 

Wire Mesh Foundation 56 

Net Foundation 58 

Color Combinations in Flowers 64-68 

Corsage Bouquets 83-88 

Marked Qualities of a Correct Corsage 84 

The Artist's Secret 85 

Best Combinations of Flowers 86 

Concise Arrangement 86 

Shields to Protect Gown 87 

Color Contrast a Selling Point 88 

Decorations : 

Table. (See Table Decorations). 
Wedding. (See Wedding Decorations). 
Miscellaneous. (See Miscellaneous Decorations). 

Emblems 30-37 

Flag, American, Construction of 32 

Forearm Shower Bouquet 75 

Frames, Wire 9, 10 

Fruit and Flower Combinations for Table Decoration 69 

Garlands for Pall 59 

Hair Pin Clutch 16 

Miscellaneous Decorations 101-109 

Relief Decoration in Hotel and Home 101 

Dinner, Buffet and Banquet Table Decorations 103 

Moss, Green Wood, for Pillow 11 

Mossing a Pillow 10-13 

Pall, Floral 59 

Pillows : 

Mixed 18 

Garland 18 

Mossing 10-13 

Stemming (Hair Pin Clutch) 16 

Wiring 17 

110 



INDEX TO CONTENTS 111 

Receptacles and How to Fill Them 41-44, 106, 108 

Ribbon Bow, How to Make a 52 

Shower Bouquet, Forearm 75 

Sphagnum Moss for Pillow 11 

Sprays : 

Drawing mental picture of the finished product 45 

How NOT to make a spray 46 

Grace and Proportion 48 

Preparing the Stock 48 

Putting the Spray Together 49 

Finishing Over Stem Ends 51 

How to Make a Ribbon Bow .52 

Statuary in Table Decoration 69 

Stemming Flowers for Pillows 16, 17 

Styles: Where They Originate 68 

Table Decorations: 

Choice of Materials 63, 106 

Color Combinations 64-68, 105 

Styles 68 

Fruit and Flower Combinations 69 

Use of Statuary 69 

Mixed Flower Combinations 70 

Dinner, Buffet and Banquet Table Decorations 103-105 

Receptacles, and How to Fill Them 106, 108 

Velour for Pall 59 

Wedding Bouquets : 73-81 

Forearm Shower 75 

Importance of Delivery 78 

The Sale and the Customer 78 

Wedding Decorations 91-100 

Materials in use 91 

Decorator's Properties 92 

Canopy and Mantle 94 

Use of Greens and Arrangement 97 

Points on Church Decorating 97 

The Sale and the Working Plan 99 

Wire for Pillows , 11, 17 

Wire Frames 9, 10 

Wreaths: 

Decorated . 24 

Solid ■ 25 

Shower ; 25 



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132 pages of the book contain 355 designs in black and white. There are also 
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Three standard design booklets, each one covering a distinctive field all 
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Size of each booklet, 5J^ inches wide by 7 inches high; number of pages, 
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N» The plates from which the illustrations were printed are of the highest quahty 
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